N4.5bn Fraud: Court Admits More Vital Documents in Emefiele’s Ongoing Trial

The trial of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, over an alleged N4.5 billion fraud continued on Wednesday, October 9, 2025, before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, with the court admitting more crucial documents as exhibits.

Justice Oshodi, in a brief ruling, overruled the objections of the defence counsels and admitted the documents tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as exhibits marked G and H.

The development came as the prosecution, led by Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, continued the examination-in-chief of Alvan Gurumnaan, an EFCC operative, who provided fresh details on financial transactions allegedly linked to the embattled former CBN Governor.

Gurumnaan told the court that during investigations, the EFCC uncovered WhatsApp conversations between two individuals — Henry and John Adetola — which revealed discussions about the delivery of large sums of U.S. dollars to “Oga,” allegedly referring to Emefiele.

Reading from Exhibit G, Gurumnaan said:

“Henry told John Adetola in the WhatsApp chat to give $400,000 to ‘Oga’. He even said Adetola should talk to ‘Oga’ on WhatsApp if possible.”

The EFCC operative added that Adetola later explained to investigators that he indeed travelled to Lekki, Lagos, where he met Ayo, the personal assistant to the CBN Governor, and handed him the $400,000.

“Adetola confirmed that after delivering the $400,000 to Ayo, he proceeded to the CBN office in Lagos, where Ayo handed the money directly to Emefiele,” Gurumnaan said.

The witness also told the court that there was a second transaction involving another $200,000, which Ayo personally delivered to Emefiele in his office.

According to Gurumnaan, the EFCC also questioned Mr. Victor Oyedua, a CBN contractor, who admitted giving Ayo the sums of $400,000 and $200,000 to deliver to the former CBN boss.

“He confirmed that he was a CBN contractor and that two of his contracts were pending payment. He said he was told he needed to ‘settle some management’ to facilitate the release of his funds. That was why he delivered the money,” the witness stated.

Prosecutor Oyedepo further tendered several documents obtained from the CBN, including an original letter from a company to the EFCC dated February 24, 2024, which he described as primary evidence obtained during investigations.

However, defence counsels Olalekan Ojo, SAN, and Kazeem Gbadamosi, SAN, objected to the admissibility of the documents, arguing that they were not properly certified and that some were photocopies.

Justice Oshodi dismissed their objections, ruling that the documents were admissible and should be marked as Exhibit H.

The prosecution also tendered John Adetola’s mobile phone (a Xiaomi Mi 10T) as further evidence. The phone, which was switched on and placed in flight mode, was admitted as Exhibit I.

From the device, EFCC investigators extracted additional WhatsApp conversations between Adetola and Henry, which were analyzed and presented to the court.

The prosecution also sought to tender Emefiele’s written statements made during EFCC interrogation. Defence counsel objected, alleging that the statements were obtained under duress.

Justice Oshodi consequently ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements.

The court directed both parties to report on November 21, 2025, on their agreement regarding the forensic inspection of the disputed statements.

The matter was adjourned to December 2 and 3, 2025, for continuation of the mini trial.