Court reserves ruling on Emefiele’s statements

Nkereuwem Effiong

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has reserved ruling until July 9, 2026, on the admissibility of extra-judicial statements allegedly made by former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, in his ongoing $4.5 billion fraud trial.

Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 19 counts bordering on receiving gratification and making corrupt demands while serving as CBN governor.

His co-defendant, Henry Omoile, is facing a three-count charge of allegedly accepting unlawful gifts as an agent. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.

At Friday’s proceedings, counsel to the first defendant, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), opposed the admissibility of the extra-judicial statements the prosecution sought to tender, arguing that they were not made voluntarily.

Ojo submitted that the statements were obtained through oppression, as well as physical and psychological torture, while Emefiele was allegedly detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) for more than 157 days.

Relying on Section 4 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, and relevant provisions of the Evidence Act, he argued that the statements were involuntary and therefore inadmissible.

“The issue before this Honourable Court is whether the statements credited to the first defendant were made voluntarily,” Ojo argued.

He maintained that where the voluntariness of a statement is disputed, a video recording of the interrogation is the most reliable means of establishing compliance with due process.

According to him, the absence of such a recording rendered the statements unreliable.

Ojo further argued that the prosecution failed to provide independent evidence to support the alleged confessional statements and questioned the role of the lawyer said to have witnessed the interviews.

He urged the court to reject the statements, arguing that any doubt regarding their voluntariness should be resolved in favour of the defendant.

In response, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), who appeared with Bilikisu Buhari and C.C. Okezie, called the prosecution’s eighth witness, Alvan Gurumnaan, an EFCC investigator.

While being led in evidence, the witness told the court that Emefiele was invited for questioning and that all interviews were conducted in the presence of his legal representative.

He also informed the court that the prosecution had voluntarily withdrawn the statement dated October 26, 2023, but sought to tender statements allegedly made on October 27 and 30, and November 1 and 2, 2023, as exhibits.

“If the defence does not want that statement, we are prepared to withdraw it. We are withdrawing it not because it was obtained through torture or oppression,” the witness said.

Oyedepo argued that there was no basis for conducting a trial-within-trial, maintaining that none of the remaining statements amounted to a confession.

“There is nothing in the defendant’s statements that can be construed as an admission of the facts in issue,” he submitted.

He further argued that the Anti-Torture Act does not make a trial-within-trial mandatory in the circumstances and urged the court to dismiss the defence’s objection and allow the substantive trial to proceed without further delay.

Earlier, counsel to the second defendant, Adeyinka Kotoye (SAN), informed the court of a pending application seeking leave to appeal an earlier ruling.

The prosecution did not oppose the application, following which Justice Oshodi granted the request.

“I hereby grant the second defendant leave to appeal the ruling of the court,” the judge ruled.

Head, Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Friday, 26 June 2026, added that Justice Oshodi subsequently adjourned the matter until July 9, 2026, for a ruling on the admissibility of the extra-judicial statements.

The court also fixed October 6, 7 and 8, as well as November 11, 12 and 13, 2026, for the continuation of the substantive trial.