Justice Hamza Muazu of an Abuja High Court on Thursday cautioned the prosecution in the ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to properly organise and present its case.
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Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a case marked FCT/HC/CR/577/2023. He is facing an amended 20-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, forgery, abuse of office, conspiracy to obtain by false pretence, and obtaining money under false pretence during his tenure as CBN governor.
Among the allegations, Emefiele is accused of fraudulently obtaining $6.23 million, purportedly meant for international election observers for the 2023 general elections. He has, however, pleaded not guilty to all charges.
At the resumed hearing, Justice Muazu urged the prosecution to tidy up its documentation following an objection raised by Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burkaa (SAN), against an adjournment request made by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN).
After the testimony of the 12th prosecution witness, Oyedepo requested an adjournment to properly certify a document from the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) which he intended to tender through the witness, David Jaiyeola, an EFCC investigator. Oyedepo, who is also the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, informed the court that he also had another engagement to attend.
Opposing the request, Burkaa told the court that both the defence team and the defendant had travelled from Lagos for the hearing. He further argued that the document the prosecution sought to recertify had already been certified on September 21, 2024, and had remained with the prosecution for nearly two years without proper action.
He therefore urged the court to close the evidence of the 12th prosecution witness and allow the defence to proceed with cross-examination.
Justice Muazu, however, granted the adjournment but warned the prosecution to ensure proper preparation, especially as the court had earlier approved accelerated hearing in the matter. The case was subsequently adjourned to March 16 for continuation of hearing.
Earlier in his testimony, Jaiyeola told the court that EFCC investigators recovered $2,045,000 in cash and several property documents from a lawyer linked to Emefiele, Collins Omeke.
According to the witness, the recovered documents included properties located at 17B Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, a 1,919.5 square metre plot at Oyinka Abayomi Street, Ikoyi, an industrial complex under construction in Agbor, Delta State, and eight uncompleted detached apartments on Adekunke Lawal Road, Ikoyi. Other properties listed were a detached duplex on Bank Road, Lagos, and a four-bedroom duplex at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi.
Jaiyeola further testified that Omeke told investigators the cash found in his possession belonged to Emefiele and was delivered to him through the former CBN governor’s personal assistant, Eric Ocheme. He also claimed that part of the money had been used for the development of some of the properties.
The witness added that following a forfeiture proceeding filed in a court in Lagos, Emefiele appeared to show cause why the properties should not be forfeited to the Federal Government.
He also informed the court that Emefiele later made statements to the EFCC, which were tendered by the prosecution and admitted as exhibits.
Jaiyeola further revealed that during the investigation, the EFCC obtained the bank statement of Archtekon Nigeria Limited from Zenith Bank. Reading from the document, he told the court that on March 5, 2020, the account received a cash inflow of N52,983,526.25 from the CBN.
