By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has admitted a Certified True Copy (CTC) of a Supreme Court judgment as evidence in the ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, over an alleged $4.5bn fraud.
Justice Rahman Oshodi admitted the document as Exhibit 10 on Friday, November 13, 2026, after dismissing objections by the defence.
Emefiele is standing trial alongside his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, on a 19-count charge filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), bordering on alleged receipt of gratification and corrupt demands during his tenure as CBN governor.
At the resumed hearing, prosecution witness, Alvan Gurumnaan, continued his evidence-in-chief under examination by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN).
Oyedepo and other members of the prosecution team tendered the certified Supreme Court judgment for admission in evidence.
However, Emefiele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), objected to its admissibility, arguing that the document could not be regarded as a valid Supreme Court judgment because it was signed by only four justices.
He maintained that decisions of the apex court were ordinarily delivered by a panel of five or seven justices.
Ojo also challenged the relevance of the judgment, arguing that it arose from non-conviction proceedings and did not support the prosecution’s case, particularly in view of the testimony of an earlier prosecution witness.
Counsel to the second defendant, Adeyinka Kotoye (SAN), aligned himself with the objection, further arguing that the prosecution’s attempt to introduce the document after the commencement of proceedings was another reason it should be rejected.
In response, Oyedepo urged the court to dismiss the objections, insisting that the document was a duly certified public document that satisfied the requirements of Sections 102 and 104 of the Evidence Act.
He further argued that the presence of a lead judgment was sufficient and that the document’s admissibility was not affected by the number of justices who signed it.
In his ruling, Justice Oshodi held that the Supreme Court judgment qualified as a public document and that the necessary certification requirements had been met.
He consequently admitted it as Exhibit 10.
Earlier in his testimony, Gurumnaan gave an account of how investigators allegedly traced millions of dollars paid to Emefiele through individuals said to have acted on his behalf.
The witness told the court that one of the companies under investigation allegedly paid millions of dollars to the former CBN governor through his staff member, Monday Osazuwa.
He said: “One of those examples was how a company had to pay millions of dollars to the first defendant through his staff, Monday Osazuwa.
“Osazuwa admitted to us in the course of the investigation that he received about $17m from the company and gave it to the second defendant sometime.
“The second defendant was the one who later took the money to the first defendant.”
Gurumnaan also told the court that several judgments had been obtained in favour of the EFCC, leading to the forfeiture of assets allegedly linked to Emefiele and valued at hundreds of billions of naira.
He said investigators also uncovered properties allegedly acquired through associates and companies connected to the former CBN governor.
“The first defendant used associates who also admitted to receiving money on his behalf. One of them is a lawyer called Ifeanyin Omeke, whose office our investigation led us to, and a sum of over $2m in cash was recovered,” the witness said.
He further alleged that Omeke served as secretary to several companies and admitted to acting as a front for Emefiele.
“This same Omeke serves as secretary to several companies, and he admitted to being a front for the first defendant.
“We recovered a set of twin duplexes in Lekki Phase 1 and also two mansions on Queen’s Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos,” Gurumnaan told the court.
The defence has continued to challenge aspects of the prosecution’s evidence as the trial progresses.
Justice Oshodi adjourned the case until December 17 and 18, 2026, and January 11, 14 and 19, 2027, for continuation of trial.