A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja has rejected the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) attempt to introduce additional evidence in the trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, over alleged procurement fraud.
The EFCC had filed the additional proof of evidence on October 15, 2024, seeking to introduce fresh evidence against Emefiele more than a year after the charges were initially filed. The commission also sought to bring two new witnesses, Tommy Odama John and Ifeanyi Omeke, whose extrajudicial statements were made in August 2024—over a year after the charges were instituted in August 2023.
Delivering a ruling on Thursday, Justice Hamza Muazu upheld Emefiele’s objection to the EFCC’s move. The judge noted that the anti-graft agency had previously filed additional proof of evidence on February 12, 2024, to accommodate the testimonies of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and Bamayi Haruna Mairiga.
Justice Muazu criticized the EFCC’s latest move, stating that the agency’s attempt to introduce new evidence at this stage amounted to a denial of a fair trial. He pointed out that Emefiele was not confronted with the new evidence during the investigation, as required by law, and described the EFCC’s action as “trial by ambush” and a “fishing expedition” in a case that had been ongoing since November 28, 2023.
The judge ruled that allowing the additional evidence after multiple amendments to the charges would be prejudicial to Emefiele, as it breached his right to a fair hearing. He emphasized that, in criminal proceedings, charges should be filed only after investigations have been completed and a prima facie case established. In this instance, however, the EFCC appeared to still be gathering evidence long after the trial had commenced.
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Despite these findings, Justice Muazu declined Emefiele’s request to strike out the charges on the grounds that they were speculative and based on an incomplete investigation. He reasoned that, since both the prosecution and the defense had already joined issues and the trial was near completion, it was in the interest of justice to conclude the proceedings and deliver a final judgment.
The judge also refused to expunge the testimonies of Mustapha and Mairiga from the court records, rejecting Emefiele’s argument that their evidence violated Section 36(2) of the 1999 Constitution on fair hearing. Emefiele’s lead counsel, Mathew Burkaa (SAN), had argued that the EFCC introduced the witnesses’ extrajudicial statements without first confronting Emefiele with them.
Justice Muazu has scheduled the continuation of the trial for June 3, 2025, under charge number FCT/HC/CR/577/2023.
