A Lagos Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja on Thursday admitted fresh documentary evidence against the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) linked him to an alleged $600,000 kickback.
Justice Rahman Oshodi overruled objections by the defence team and admitted the additional documents presented by the prosecution as Exhibit G.
The documents, according to the EFCC, were obtained directly from the CBN and other sources during investigations into the ongoing $4.5 billion fraud case.
During the proceedings, EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), continued the examination of an operative, Alvan Gurumnaan, who testified that investigations revealed a series of WhatsApp messages showing how cash was delivered to Emefiele through intermediaries.
Gurumnaan told the court that one of the messages read out in court showed a man identified as Henry instructing another, John Adetola, to deliver $400,000 to “Oga” and to “talk to him on WhatsApp if possible.”
He said, “Adetola confirmed to investigators that he went to Lekki in Lagos where he met Ayo, a personal assistant to the CBN governor, and delivered the $400,000. He later proceeded to the CBN office in Lagos, where he handed it over to Mr. Emefiele.”
The EFCC operative further disclosed that Ayo, a CBN staff member at the time, admitted during interrogation that he received the funds on behalf of Emefiele.
He also confessed to delivering another $200,000 to the ex-CBN governor on a separate occasion.
Gurumnaan added that a CBN contractor, Victor Oyedua, confirmed to investigators that he paid a total of $600,000 — split into $400,000 and $200,000 tranches — to Emefiele through Ayo after being told to “settle some management” officials to expedite his contract payment.
The prosecution tendered several documents, including a letter from a company to the EFCC dated February 24, 2024, which Oyedepo described as public records forming part of primary evidence obtained during the investigation.
However, defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN) and Kazeem Gbadamosi (SAN), objected to their admissibility, arguing that the documents were uncertified photocopies.
Justice Oshodi dismissed the objection and admitted the documents as Exhibit H.
The court also admitted Adetola’s MI 10T mobile phone as Exhibit I, after it was presented by the EFCC. The device reportedly contained the WhatsApp conversations that formed part of the investigation trail.
The EFCC also sought to tender statements allegedly made by the defendants, but the defence objected, claiming the statements were obtained under duress.
Justice Oshodi consequently ordered a trial-within-trial to determine their voluntariness.
He adjourned the matter until November 21, 2025, for a report on the parties’ agreement regarding forensic examination of the exhibits and fixed December 2 and 3, 2025, for continuation of the mini-trial.
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