Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos Special Offences Court, Ikeja on Tuesday, directed the office of the Lagos High Court Chief Registrar to supervise forensic expert analysis in a device of WhatsApp conversations between Mr. Godwin Emefiele former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and a business partner.
The trial judge reached the conclusion following a formal application from Emefiele’s leading lawyer, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, SAN, in the ongoing trial over alleged $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion frauds.
Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, face a 19-count charge bordering on money laundering and fraud.
At the last adjourned date, during examination in chief of the PW8 led by Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Ojo had argued that the defence must confirm whether the screenshots admitted as Exhibit in Court genuinely originated from alleged Emefiele’s business partner’s phone and whether the conversations were complete.
The lawyer to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), prosecuting on behalf of the Federal Government, Rotimi Oyedepo, had objected to the oral application, urging the court to direct the defence to file a formal application; thus the judge adjourned till June 24 for written application to be moved.
Moving the application, to which Ojo said the Complainant has chosen a commendable path of not filing a counter-motion, the Defence is seeking an “order of this Honourable Court, permitting the 1st Defendant/Applicant and/or Forensic Expert appointed or instructed by the 1st Defendant/Applicant to inspect, examine and if necessary extract or test data contained in Exhibit E (I Phone 12 tendered by the Prosecution through PW8) and all other electronic devices found, discovered and/or recovered in the course of investigation of 1st Defendant/Applicant in respect of this Charge No. ID23787C/2024, under the Supervision or in the presence of a designated official(s) of the Honourable Court or under such additional conditions as may be deemed necessary by the Honourable Court in the circumstances of this for the purpose of cross-examination witnesses and Defence of the 1st Defendant/Applicant.”
Elaborating further the application filed in the court by the Defence added:
“During the proceeding of this Honourable Court on May 27, 2025 the Prosecution tendered screenshots of a WhatsApp chats through PW8 on the basis that the said chat was extract from a certain device (an I Phone 12). The said screenshots of WhatsApp chats were admitted and marked as Exhibit E-1-E27”.
In response, Mrs. Chineye Okezie, holding the brief of Mr. Oyedepo, SAN, who was not present in court, confirmed receipt of the Defence application, adding that the Prosecution had not filed any counter motion.
The Prosecution said the EFCC was planning a situation whereby the forensic analysis be done within the premises of EFCC.
The Defence lawyer objected to the location of the forensic analysis, adding, “We do not want to be at the mercy of the EFCC. It is better to do it at a neutral place.”
The lawyer to the 2nd Defendant, Mr. Kassim Gbadamosi, SAN, was of the opinion that each party could bring its own forensic expert during the analysis.
During the examination in chief of the PW8 Alvan Gurumnaan, an operative of EFCC, the court heard that between September 2020 and June 2, 2023 – just days before his suspension as CBN Governor – Emefiele allegedly received multiple payments totaling $17.1 million via Osazuwa.
Gurumnaan had claimed that one Osazuwa delivered the funds to Emefiele’s residence, where they were handed to Omoile.
The EFCC, represented by lead prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), sought to admit WhatsApp printouts of conversations between alleged Emefiele’s business partner and his employer as evidence. This was not objected by defence lawyer who, however, insisted that the defence should have the right to inspect the device personally or through a forensic expert to verify the authenticity of the messages.
Earlier in his testimony, Gurumnaan, an Assistant Commander with the EFCC, said he joined the agency in 2008 and had been involved in various investigations, arrests, and intelligence gathering. He confirmed that several intelligence reports alleging abuse of office, gratification, and living above means were received against Emefiele during his tenure as CBN Governor, prompting investigations by his team.
Gurumnaan stated that letters were sent to the CBN, Code of Conduct Bureau, Corporate Affairs Commission, and several commercial banks during the course of the investigation, with some CBN staff interviewed both in Abuja and Lagos
The trial judge adjourned ruling to September 15.