An Ikeja Special Offences Court on Wednesday dismissed the application filed by former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear his graft case.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Emefiele on a 26-count charge involving alleged misuse of office, leading to financial losses of $4.5 billion and ₦2.8 billion.
His co-defendant, Henry Omoile, is facing related charges, including unlawful acceptance of gifts.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Rahman Oshodi held that the court had jurisdiction to hear the charges and dismissed Emefiele’s application, citing that counts eight to 26 were within the EFCC’s territorial reach.
However, the judge struck out counts one to four, which involved allegations of abuse of office linked to the allocation of foreign exchange.
“Allocation of foreign exchange without reason is not defined as an offence in any written law,” Oshodi said, affirming that those counts were not punishable under Nigerian laws.
The court further ruled that the EFCC had established sufficient evidence linking the offences in counts eight to 26 to the Lagos jurisdiction.
Emefiele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), had argued on December 12, 2024, that the court lacked jurisdiction as the alleged offences were committed outside Lagos.
He contended that the charges violated Section 36(12) of the Nigerian Constitution, emphasizing that abuse of office is not legally recognized as an offence under Lagos State laws.
Ojo further asserted that the Lagos State House of Assembly lacked legislative authority over matters on the Exclusive Legislative List, adding that Section 73 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011, could not be applied to the case.
In response, EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) maintained that the alleged crimes were economic and financial in nature, falling squarely within the EFCC’s jurisdiction.
He argued that evidence, including witness testimonies, demonstrated that Lagos was the appropriate
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