A Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday adjourned to Friday, January 16, the trial-within-trial in the ongoing criminal case involving the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Naijaonpoint reports that Justice Rahman Oshodi fixed the date after hearing further testimony from a defence witness, Nnamdi Offia, during cross-examination by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN).
Under cross-examination, Offia admitted that Emefiele was cautioned in his presence during interrogation by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and that the former CBN governor signed the cautionary statement.
He further acknowledged that he participated in the statement-taking process and understood that whatever the second defendant wrote could be used against him in court.
When asked whether he lodged any formal complaint or petition against the EFCC over the alleged conduct of its investigative team, NAIJAONPOINT answered in the negative.
Offia also admitted that the judge who heard the fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by his client did not find the EFCC guilty of any misconduct and that, to his knowledge, Emefiele was not harassed in his presence.
Earlier in his testimony, Offia told the court that an EFCC official, identified as Omoile, allegedly assured his client that he would be granted bail and might not be charged if he cooperated by providing incriminating information against the first defendant.
According to him, the interrogation was conducted in a question-and-answer format, during which the second defendant was allegedly compelled to give answers that suited the investigators before being allowed to write them down.
“On several occasions, questions were put to the second defendant and he answered, but he was not allowed to write them down because the answers did not conform to what the interrogators wanted. I objected to this many times,” Offia said.
He told the court that the interrogation session of February 26, 2024, ended with the investigators informing him that the defendant would be detained because the exercise was not concluded.
Offia further alleged that on February 27, 2024, he discovered that his client was being interrogated in his absence and that when he queried the process, an EFCC officer identified as David challenged his right to do so.
“Tempers rose, and David walked me out of the premises. I reported the incident to the head of the team, who told me not to worry and asked me to sit in the waiting area,” he testified.
He said he was only allowed access to his client around 8 pm, after which the defendant was returned to the detention facility.
According to NAIJAONPOINT , the EFCC later informed him that his client had refused to cooperate and would not be released, prompting him to apply for bail from the EFCC zonal head.
Offia told the court that the second defendant was detained for 21 days, after which he filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
He said Justice Muslim Hassan granted bail to his client but ordered that he be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending the perfection of bail conditions.
After listening to the testimony, Justice Oshodi adjourned the matter till January 16, 2026, for the continuation of the trial-within-trial.