Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday, ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of statements allegedly made by the second defendant, Henry Omoile, in the ongoing prosecution of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who is standing trial for alleged $4.5 billion fraud and abuse of office.
Emefiele and Omoile are facing a 19-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The order followed objections from defence counsel, who argued that Omoile’s statements were extracted under duress and should not be admitted in evidence.
During proceedings, Justice Oshodi admitted several new exhibits tendered by the prosecution, overruling multiple objections from the defence team. Prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), continued the examination of EFCC operative, Alvan Gurumnaan, who read WhatsApp exchanges between “Mr. Henry” and a witness, John Adetola, captured in Exhibit G.
Gurumnaan testified that Adetola delivered $400,000 to “Oga,” allegedly referring to Emefiele, through his aide, Ayo, at the CBN office in Lagos. He further revealed that Adetola later delivered another $200,000 to the same aide, confirming both transactions during interrogation.
According to Gurumnaan, a CBN contractor, Victor Oyedua, corroborated the transactions, admitting he gave the money to facilitate payments for pending contracts.
The court also admitted a company letter dated February 24, 2024 (Exhibit H) and Adetola’s Xiaomi Mi 10T mobile phone (Exhibit I), which contained additional WhatsApp conversations related to the case.
After reviewing arguments from both parties, Justice Oshodi adjourned the case to December 2 and 3, 2025, for the trial-within-trial proceedings.
