The trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, on alleged procurement fraud was on Wednesday stalled before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Justice Hamza Muazu had in June adjourned the case to September 22 and 23 for continuation of the prosecution’s case after ruling that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) could not call additional witnesses not listed in the charge against Emefiele.
When the matter was called, the defendant’s lawyer, Mr. Mathew Burkaa, SAN, noted that the trial had been adjourned to Tuesday for continuation and told the court he did not know why any of the prosecutors were absent.
In response, Justice Muazu drew his attention to a letter from the EFCC requesting an adjournment of the matter to a later date.
Displeased, Burkaa expressed frustration, saying both he and his client had travelled from Lagos for the trial. He urged the court not to grant the adjournment, insisting the letter did not provide a valid reason. He further argued that since the charge was filed by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the EFCC lacked authority to write a letter seeking adjournment.
“Since prosecution is not in court, I asked that their case be foreclosed. There is no application for adjournment from the AGF. The EFCC that wrote the letter is not the one that filed the charge.
“We therefore urged the court not to grant the adjournment and foreclose their case,” Burkaa submitted.
Justice Muazu, however, declined the application to foreclose the prosecution’s case. He ruled that in the interest of fairness, the adjournment would be granted, but warned: “This is the last adjournment I will grant the prosecution, and if they are not here we would know what to do next.”
Emefiele was first arraigned in 2023 on a 20-count amended charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to obtain by false pretence, and obtaining money by false pretence during his tenure as CBN governor.
To prove its case, EFCC’s counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, called 10 witnesses and later sought to file additional proof of evidence to introduce two new witnesses, Tommy Odama John and Ifeanyi Omeke. Their extrajudicial statements were made in August 2024.
The defence opposed the move, arguing that the EFCC was attempting to introduce evidence outside the original proof of evidence after listed witnesses had already testified.
In a ruling delivered in March, Justice Muazu held that the EFCC had previously filed additional evidence in February 2024 to accommodate testimonies from a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, and one Bamayi Haruna Mairiga. He said such late applications bore the “resemblance of a denial of fair trial” and aligned with Burkaa’s submission that the EFCC’s conduct amounted to “trial by ambush” and “fishing for evidence.”
He further ruled that the attempt to introduce additional witnesses after repeated amendments was prejudicial to the defendant and breached his right to a fair hearing.
The judge, however, declined to strike out the charge, stating that justice would be better served by completing the trial on its merits. He also refused to expunge the testimonies of Mustapha and Mairiga from the record, despite Emefiele’s argument that they violated Section 36(2) of the 1999 Constitution on fair hearing.
Among the allegations against Emefiele is that he forged a document titled Re: Presidential Directive on Foreign Election Observer Missions dated January 26, 2023, with Ref. No. SGF.43/L.01/201, purporting it to have emanated from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
He is further accused of using his office as CBN governor to confer corrupt advantage on two companies, April 1616 Nigeria Ltd and Architekon Nigeria Ltd, in a charge marked FCT/HC/CR/577/2023.
Alex Enumah
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