Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, has admitted additional documents and exhibits presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, October 9, 2025, the presiding judge overruled objections raised by the defence team, led by Olalekan Ojo (SAN) and Kazeem Gbadamosi (SAN), and admitted the contested documents as Exhibit G and Exhibit H.
During proceedings, prosecuting counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) continued the examination of EFCC operative Alvan Gurumnaan, who narrated how investigators uncovered a series of WhatsApp conversations linking cash deliveries to the former CBN governor.
According to Gurumnaan, the chats showed a man identified as Henry instructing John Adetola to deliver $400,000 to “Oga,” later confirmed to be Emefiele. He said Adetola told investigators that he met Ayo, a personal assistant to the CBN governor, in Lekki, Lagos, and handed over the cash before it was taken to Emefiele’s office.
He added that Ayo, when interrogated, confirmed receiving the money and admitted to another transaction involving $200,000, also delivered to Emefiele. A CBN contractor, Victor Oyedua, reportedly corroborated the claims, saying he gave Ayo a total of $600,000 to “settle management” in order to expedite payment for his contract.
The prosecution further tendered documents obtained from the CBN and a private firm, which Oyedepo described as primary evidence gathered during investigations. The defence objected, arguing that the documents were uncertified photocopies, but Justice Oshodi ruled that they met evidentiary standards and admitted them in evidence.
The court also admitted Adetola’s MI 10T mobile phone as Exhibit I, noting that it contained WhatsApp messages retrieved and analysed by EFCC forensic experts.
Meanwhile, the prosecution sought to tender statements allegedly made by the defendants during interrogation. However, the defence contended that the statements were obtained under duress.
In response, Justice Oshodi ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements.
The case was adjourned to November 21, 2025, for a report on the forensic inspection of documents and devices, and to December 2 and 3, 2025, for the mini-trial.