An Ikeja Special Offences Court has admitted extra-judicial statements made by former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, as evidence in his ongoing trial over alleged abuse of office.
Justice Rahman Oshodi gave the ruling on Thursday, allowing the statements to be tendered as exhibits in the case.
The court marked the admitted statements as Exhibit K31 after ruling on arguments over their admissibility.
Following the decision, Justice Oshodi adjourned the matter until October 6 for continuation of trial.
Emefiele is being tried on a 19-count charge bordering on alleged gratification, corrupt demands and abuse of office.
The allegations involve transactions reportedly valued at $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion.
His co-defendant, Henry Omoile, is also facing a three-count charge relating to alleged unlawful acceptance of gifts.
The court had earlier fixed July 9 to decide whether the statements should be admitted after Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, challenged their admissibility.
Ojo argued that the statements were not made voluntarily.
He claimed they were obtained through oppression, as well as alleged physical and mental torture while the former CBN governor was in custody.
The defence counsel told the court that Emefiele had been held by the Department of State Services for more than 157 days.
He relied on the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, and relevant provisions of the Evidence Act to support his objection.
According to Ojo, the key issue before the court was whether the statements attributed to Emefiele were voluntarily made.
He submitted that video recordings of interrogation sessions would have been the strongest proof that proper procedures were followed.
The senior lawyer argued that the absence of such recordings raised questions about the reliability and admissibility of the statements.
He also questioned the involvement of the lawyer who was said to have witnessed the interviews and urged the court not to admit the documents.
The prosecution, however, opposed the defence’s position and asked the court to accept the statements.
Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, called an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission investigator, Alvan Gurumnaan, to testify on the issue.
Gurumnaan told the court that Emefiele was invited for questioning and that the interviews were conducted in the presence of his lawyer.
Oyedepo argued that there was no need for a trial-within-trial because the statements did not amount to confessional statements.
He maintained that nothing in the statements could be interpreted as an admission by the defendant.
After considering the arguments, the court admitted the statements and directed that the substantive trial should continue.
