The Lagos State Special Offences Court has fixed 9 July for ruling on whether extra-judicial statements attributed to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, will be admitted as evidence in his ongoing $4.5 billion fraud trial.
Justice Rahman Oshodi set the date after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence on the voluntariness and admissibility of the statements presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, are facing a 22-count charge bordering on alleged receiving of gratification, corrupt demands, and unlawful acceptance of gifts while the former served as apex bank governor. Emefiele faces 19 counts, while Omoile faces three. Both have pleaded not guilty.
At Friday’s proceedings, defence counsel Olalekan Ojo (SAN) challenged the admissibility of the statements, arguing that they were obtained under duress during what he described as prolonged detention by the State Security Service (SSS), which allegedly lasted over 157 days.
He cited provisions of the Anti-Torture Act and the Evidence Act, insisting that any statement obtained through coercion is inadmissible in law. He further argued that the absence of video recordings of the interrogation process weakened the credibility of the prosecution’s evidence.
Ojo urged the court to reject the statements, saying doubts over voluntariness must be resolved in favour of the defendant.
In response, prosecution counsel and Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), called an EFCC investigator, Alvan Gurumnaan, as a witness.
The witness told the court that Emefiele was properly invited for questioning and that all interviews were conducted in the presence of his legal representative. He also stated that one of the statements dated 26 October 2023 had been withdrawn by the prosecution, while statements made on 27 and 30 October, as well as 1 and 2 November 2023, were still being relied upon.
The prosecution maintained that the remaining statements did not amount to confessions and therefore did not require a trial-within-trial to determine voluntariness. It further argued that the Anti-Torture Act does not automatically mandate such a procedure in the present circumstances.
The defence, however, insisted that the statements were not voluntarily made and should be excluded from evidence.
Earlier in the proceedings, the court also granted leave for the second defendant, Omoile, to appeal a previous ruling, following an unopposed application.
Justice Oshodi subsequently adjourned the matter to 9 July for ruling on the admissibility of the statements, while also fixing 6–8 October and 11–13 November for continuation of the substantive trial.
