Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday, admitted additional evidence in the ongoing trial of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, who is facing charges over an alleged $4.5 billion fraud.
Emefiele is standing trial on a 19-count charge bordering on receiving gratification and corrupt demand, filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
His co-defendant, Henry Omoile, is facing a separate three-count charge relating to unlawful acceptance of gifts by agents. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
At the resumed hearing, Justice Oshodi overruled the objections of the defence counsel, led by Senior Advocates of Nigeria Olalekan Ojo and Kazeem Gbadamosi, and admitted as evidence a bundle of documents extracted from the mobile phone of John Adetola, a former Executive Assistant to Emefiele.
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Ruling on the admissibility of the materials, Justice Oshodi stated, “The court overrules the objection of the defence counsel and admits the documents as Exhibit G.”
Following the court’s ruling, the prosecution’s witness, Alvan Gurumnaan, continued his testimony and read out WhatsApp conversations contained in Exhibit G. The chats allegedly revealed that Omoile instructed Adetola to deliver $400,000 to “Oga,” a term the witness said referred to Emefiele.
Led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Gurumnaan testified that Adetola had confirmed during interrogation that the $400,000 was handed to a CBN official named Ayo, who served as Emefiele’s personal assistant.
“John Adetola confirmed that he went to Lekki, Lagos, where he met Ayo and delivered the $400,000. He later proceeded to the CBN office in Lagos, where he handed the money over to Mr. Emefiele,” Gurumnaan told the court.
He further alleged that another $200,000 was delivered through the same channel. “This time, Ayo personally handed the money to Emefiele in his office,” the witness added.
According to Gurumnaan, a CBN contractor, Victor Oyedua, confirmed providing the $400,000 and $200,000 to Ayo as part of an arrangement to “settle management” to facilitate payment for pending contracts with the CBN.
The prosecution also tendered additional documents obtained from the apex bank and a company letter dated February 24, 2024, which Justice Oshodi admitted as Exhibit H despite objections from the defence.
A Mi 10T smartphone belonging to Adetola, which was reportedly seized while still powered and in flight mode, was admitted as Exhibit I.
The EFCC further sought to tender statements allegedly made by Emefiele during investigation. However, the defence objected, claiming the statements were obtained under duress.
Following the objection, Justice Oshodi ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements. He directed both parties to report on the progress of forensic inspection by November 21, 2025.
The case was subsequently adjourned till December 2 and 3, 2025, for continuation of trial.