Alleged $4.5bn Fraud: Court Reserves Ruling On Admissibility Of Emefiele’s Statements Till July 9

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday, June 26, 2026, adjourned proceedings in the alleged $4.5 billion fraud trial involving a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, till July 9, 2026, for a ruling on the admissibility of extra-judicial statements allegedly made by Emefiele.
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Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 19-count charge bordering on receiving gratification and making corrupt demands while serving as Governor of the CBN.

His co-defendant, Omoile, is facing a three-count charge bordering on the unlawful acceptance of gifts by an agent.

Both defendants have pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.

At the resumed hearing on Friday, counsel to the first defendant, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, objected to the admissibility of the extra-judicial statements the prosecution sought to tender, contending that they were not made voluntarily.

Ojo argued that the statements were obtained through oppression as well as physical and mental torture, while his client was allegedly held in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, for over 157 days.

Relying on the provisions of Section 4 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, and relevant sections of the Evidence Act, he submitted that the statements were involuntary and, therefore, inadmissible in evidence.

“The issue before this Honourable Court is whether the statements credited to the first defendant were made voluntarily,” he argued.

According to him, where the voluntariness of a statement is challenged, a video recording of the interrogation remains the most reliable means of establishing compliance with due process.

He contended that the absence of any such recording rendered the statements unreliable.

Ojo further argued that the prosecution failed to produce independent evidence to support the alleged confessional statements and also questioned the role of the lawyer said to have witnessed the interviews.

He urged the court to reject the statements, submitting that any doubt regarding their voluntariness ought to be resolved in favour of the defendant.

In response, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who appeared with Bilikisu Buhari and C. C. Okezie, called the prosecution’s eighth witness, Alvan Gurumnaan, an investigator with the EFCC.

Led in evidence, the witness told the court that Emefiele was invited for questioning and that all the interviews were conducted in the presence of his legal representative.

He further informed the court that the prosecution had voluntarily withdrawn the statement dated October 26, 2023, but sought to tender statements made on October 27, October 30, November 1 and November 2, 2023, as exhibits.

“If the defence does not want that statement, we are prepared to withdraw it. We are withdrawing it not because it was obtained through torture or oppression,” the witness said.

Oyedepo, thereafter, argued that there was no basis for conducting a trial-within-trial, maintaining that none of the remaining statements constituted a confession.

“There is nothing in the defendant’s statements that can be construed as an admission of the facts in issue,” he submitted.

He further argued that the Anti-Torture Act does not make a trial-within-trial mandatory in the circumstances and urged the court to dismiss the defence’s objection and allow the substantive trial to proceed expeditiously.

Earlier in the proceedings, counsel to the second defendant, Adeyinka Kotoye, SAN, informed the court of a pending application seeking leave to appeal an earlier ruling of the court.

Emefiele

The prosecution indicated that it had no objection to the application, following which Justice Oshodi granted the request.

“I hereby grant the second defendant leave to appeal the ruling of the court,” the judge held.

Justice Oshodi, thereafter, adjourned the matter till July 9, 2026, for a ruling on the admissibility of the extra-judicial statements.

The court also fixed October 6, 7 and 8, as well as November 11, 12 and 13, 2026, for the continuation of the substantive trial.
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Governor Adeleke Mourns,
Management Denies Negligence In UNIOSUN Final-Year Student’s Death

The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, on Friday described the death of Grace Osunlakin, a 400-Level Criminology and Security Studies student of Osun State University, Ifetedo Campus, as “painful and deeply heartbreaking.”
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The management of the university also expressed concern over misleading narratives circulating on social media regarding the death of Osunlakin.

Adeleke, in a condolence message signed by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, extended condolences to the bereaved family, the Governing Council, management, staff and students of Osun State University.

He urged students and members of the public to remain calm, peaceful and law-abiding while the relevant authorities continue to review the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The governor also urged all stakeholders to avoid actions or statements capable of escalating tension, assuring that the state government would continue to place the safety and welfare of students as a top priority.

He subsequently directed the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the university management, to “immediately engage in a comprehensive review of healthcare service delivery across all university campuses with a view to strengthening emergency response mechanisms, improving medical facilities and ensuring that students have timely access to quality healthcare whenever the need arises.”

Meanwhile, the university’s Public Relations Officer, Ademola Adesoji, said the institution’s preliminary findings showed that the deceased was not treated at the university’s medical facility, contrary to claims circulating on social media.

According to Adesoji, Osunlakin successfully participated in her final-year project defence on Tuesday before a panel chaired by the Head of Department, Dr Ademolu Adenuga.

“Following the defence, she reportedly interacted with her project supervisor and fellow students before returning to her off-campus residence, a privately rented apartment. The university noted that she showed no visible signs of illness while on campus that day.

“The institution further stated that Grace had, since her 100-level, been identified as an asthmatic patient, a condition documented in her medical records at the University Health Centre, Ifetedo Campus. Records also indicate that she was last treated at the University Health Services on March 26, 2026.

Adesoji said Mariam assisted Osunlakin back to her room before efforts were made to take her to a medical facility when her condition worsened.

He added that movement was affected by an unannounced Oro ritual in Ifetedo, making transportation difficult.

“When her condition appeared to worsen, it was decided that she should be taken to a medical facility at about 11:30 p.m. The report explained that movement at that time was reportedly affected by the unannounced Oro ritual in the Ifetedo community, which placed restrictions on movement at night, thereby making transportation more difficult. Despite this, efforts were made to transport her on a motorcycle to the nearby Community Health Centre at Ikija, Ifetedo.

“The university stressed that Grace was not taken to the University Health Centre at any point on the night of the incident. Upon arrival at the Community Health Centre, Grace was reported to have lost consciousness and was immediately laid on a stretcher. Her friend and other students subsequently informed the Head of Department, who was at the time outside the community in Ondo State.

“Her project supervisor, Dr Oyeyipo Eyitayo, and the Acting Head of Peace and Conflict Studies, Dr Olawale Gbadeyan, were contacted at about 11:46 p.m. Both lecturers immediately proceeded to the Community Health Centre, where the matron on duty confirmed her passing in the presence of her friends,” Adesoji said.

UNIOSUN

Seeking further medical confirmation, the management said the lecturers subsequently took Osunlakin to a Specialist Hospital in Ondo.

“On arrival at about 12:10 a.m., the medical doctor on duty reportedly carried out preliminary checks and confirmed that she was dead on arrival,” the university spokesperson said.

The university maintained that throughout the process, the Head of Department and the Dean of the Faculty maintained constant communication with those involved, reiterating that at no point on the day of her death was she taken to the University Medical Centre.

Online media reports that Osunlakin’s death triggered protests in Ifetedo on Thursday, with students accusing the university of negligence in handling the health emergency.
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Alleged N2b NEDC Fraud: Danjuma Mohammed’s Absence Stalls Proceedings

The absence of the National Coordinator of Multi-Sectional Crisis Recovery Projects, MCRP, North East Development Commission, NEDC, Danjuma Mohammed on Thursday, June 25, 2026 stalled his trial before Justice K. N. Ogbonnaya of the Federal Capital Territory, High Court, Zuba, Abuja.
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Mohammed, the first defendant, is facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC alongside Prince Achem and Aminu Alhaji (at large) on amended 54-count charge, bordering on conspiracy, false pretence, fraud and forgery to the tune of N2.2 billion.

At Thursday`s proceedings, the EFCC’s counsel, Joshua Saidi informed the court that he got a letter from the counsel to the first defendant that his client will not be in court today due to a scheduled surgery.

“My lord, we got a letter yesterday from counsel to the first defendant that he is preparing to undergo a scheduled surgery. This is very frustrating because if they had informed us earlier, we wouldn’t have bordered on letting all these witnesses from Gombe, Borno and Katsina to come to court today. This is the third time these witnesses have come to court,” he said.

Counsel to the first defendant, M.S. Ibrahim, SAN, stated that the first defendant was unavoidably absent because of his diagnosis with a urinary problem in the hospital on June 18, 2026, which he said, required surgery. He further disclosed that he had made available a letter from the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja authenticating the diagnosis to the prosecution.

EFCC

On his part, Counsel to the second defendant, J.J Usman, SAN, informed the court that although he was ready to go on with the cross-examination of the First Prosecution Witness, PW1, Kenneth Ejiofor Ifekudu, he was constrained not to proceed following the absence of the first defendant in court.

Justice Ogbonnaya adjourned the matter till July 13, 2026 for continuation of trial.
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