Emefiele and Co-Defendant to Resume Trial for $4.5bn Fraud
On Wednesday, the Lagos State Special Offences Court ruled that the trial of Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will proceed despite his objections. Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, are facing allegations of fraud involving $4.5 billion and ₦2.8 billion, levelled against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In his ruling, Justice Rahman Oshodi affirmed the court’s jurisdiction to hear the case, although he dismissed four of the 26 charges due to their irrelevance to the court’s jurisdiction. These charges, related to foreign exchange allocations, were struck out after Justice Oshodi stated that such allocations do not constitute crimes under Nigerian law.
“Allocation of foreign exchange without reason is not defined as an offence under any written law. The objection to counts one to four succeeds and is hereby struck out,” Justice Oshodi explained.
He further dismissed the objections regarding the court’s territorial jurisdiction over the remaining charges, ruling that the prosecution had sufficiently demonstrated a territorial nexus in the case.
However, the trial has been postponed to February 24, 2025, for further proceedings. This decision follows a series of legal arguments from both sides. Emefiele’s lawyer, Mr. Olalekan Ojo (SAN), contended that the court in Lagos lacked jurisdiction to try the case, as the alleged offences, including abuse of office, occurred outside the court’s geographical reach. Ojo invoked Section 32(12) of the Nigerian constitution, arguing that the charges violated constitutional provisions.
Ojo also claimed that the Lagos State House of Assembly lacked the authority to legislate on matters within the Exclusive Legislative List, rendering Section 73 of the Lagos State Criminal Law (2011) inapplicable to Emefiele’s case.
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In response, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), representing the EFCC, argued that the charges concerned economic crimes within the court’s jurisdiction and that Lagos was the appropriate venue for the trial. Oyedepo presented evidence showing that the offences took place within the court’s jurisdiction and pointed to witness testimonies that supported this assertion. He also contended that the objections raised by Emefiele’s legal team were not substantiated with valid evidence.
Following the hearing, Justice Oshodi initially scheduled a ruling for January 7, 2025, but due to the delay in preparing the judgement, the case was postponed to January 8, 2025. The court has now scheduled further hearings for February 24 and 26, 2025, allowing the prosecution to proceed with the remaining charges, which include abuse of office and illegal financial transactions.
This ruling means that Emefiele and Omoile will continue to face trial for the remaining charges, with both men facing serious allegations of financial misconduct.
Content Credit| Igbakuma Rita Doom
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