The $4.5 billion fraud trial of the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, took a dramatic turn on Thursday, October 9, 2025, as Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja, admitted more documents as exhibits and overruled strong objections from the defence counsel.
Ruling on a heated argument over the admissibility of documents tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Justice Oshodi declared: “The court overrules the objections of the defence counsels and admits the documents as Exhibits G.”
Following the ruling, lead prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, resumed the examination of EFCC operative Alvan Gurumnaan, who unveiled new layers of evidence allegedly linking Emefiele to large cash transactions and WhatsApp communications suggesting payments made on his behalf.
Gurumnaan read from Exhibit G, WhatsApp chats allegedly between Henry and John Adetola, where Henry directed Adetola to deliver **$400,000** to “Oga.” “Talk to him — Oga — on WhatsApp if possible,” the message read.
The EFCC witness explained that investigations revealed the “Oga” mentioned referred to the former CBN Governor.
According to Gurumnaan: “Adetola confirmed he went to Lekki, Lagos, where he met Ayo, the personal assistant to the CBN Governor, and handed over $400,000. He later proceeded to the CBN office, Lagos, where he delivered the money to Mr. Emefiele in person.”
The investigator also testified that another $200,000 was later delivered directly to Emefiele by Ayo.
“We invited Mr. Ayo, who confirmed receiving $400,000 and $200,000 from Adetola on behalf of the first defendant,” Gurumnaan told the court.
“We also interviewed Mr. Victor Oyedua, a CBN contractor, who admitted giving those sums to Ayo to facilitate the payment of pending CBN contracts.”
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According to EFCC, Oyedua confessed that two of his contracts with the CBN had stalled, and he was told to “settle management” to get his payments processed.
The prosecution further tendered a letter from a company to the EFCC, dated February 24, 2024, as part of fresh documentary evidence obtained during the investigation. Oyedepo described the letter as a primary public document directly received by the EFCC.
However, the defence team led by Olalekan Ojo, SAN, and Kazeem Gbadamosi, SAN, objected to the admissibility of the documents, arguing that they were photocopies and not properly certified. They urged the court to reject them entirely.
Justice Oshodi dismissed the objections and admitted the documents as Exhibits H, ruling that the materials satisfied evidentiary requirements.
Also admitted as Exhibit I was a MI10T smartphone belonging to Adetola, which was presented in “flight mode” and contained WhatsApp conversations linking the suspects. EFCC investigators testified that they had retrieved and analyzed the chat history between Adetola and Henry, which was projected in court.
The prosecution also sought to tender statements allegedly made by the defendants during interrogation. But defence lawyers objected, insisting that the statements were obtained under duress.
In response, Justice Oshodi ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements and directed both parties to report back on November 21, 2025, regarding their forensic inspection agreement.
The case was subsequently adjourned to December 2 and 3, 2025, for continuation of the mini trial.
