A defence lawyer on Thursday alleged before the Lagos State High Court that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) pressured his client to implicate former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, in the ongoing trial over alleged $4.5 billion fraud.
Mr. Nnamdi Offial, counsel to the second defendant, Henry Omoile, made the allegation while testifying in a trial-within-trial ordered by Justice Rahman Oshodi to determine whether Omoile’s statement to the EFCC was made voluntarily.
Offial told the court that EFCC investigators allegedly promised his client bail and possible exemption from prosecution if he cooperated by providing incriminating information against Emefiele.
Emefiele and Omoile are standing trial on charges bordering on accepting gratification, receiving gifts through agents, corruption and fraudulent receipt of property.
The EFCC also accused them of conferring corrupt advantage on associates, contrary to the Corrupt Practices Act, 2000. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to Offial, the head of the EFCC interrogation team repeatedly assured Omoile of leniency if he implicated the former apex bank governor.
He said the interrogation process was conducted in a rigid question-and-answer format, during which his client was only allowed to write responses that aligned with the investigators’ expectations.
“On several occasions, questions were put to the second defendant and he answered, but he was not allowed to write them down because the answers did not conform to what the interrogators wanted him to say. I objected to this many times,” Offial testified.
The lawyer further alleged that on February 26, 2024, the interrogation session ended with investigators informing him that Omoile would remain in detention because they were not done with him.
He also narrated an incident the following day, February 27, 2024, when he questioned why his client was being interrogated in his absence, a situation he said resulted in a confrontation with one of the officers, identified as Davide, who allegedly ordered him to leave the premises.
“I reported the incident to the head of the team, who advised me not to worry and to sit in the waiting area. I was not allowed to render services to my client until about 8pm, when he was taken back to the detention centre,” Offial said.
He added that he later discovered his client was being detained for refusing to cooperate with investigators, prompting him to apply for bail from the EFCC zonal head.
Offial told the court that Omoile spent 21 days in detention before filing a fundamental rights enforcement suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
He said Justice Muslim Hassan eventually granted bail but ordered that Omoile be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending the perfection of bail conditions.
However, under cross-examination by prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, Offial admitted that Omoile was cautioned in his presence and that he signed the caution.
He also acknowledged participating in the statement-taking process and confirmed that he was aware any statement made by his client could be used against him in court.
The defence witness further conceded that he did not file any petition against the EFCC over the alleged misconduct and that the Federal High Court did not indict the commission in the fundamental rights suit.
He also admitted that his client was not harassed in his presence during interrogation.
Justice Oshodi subsequently adjourned the matter until January 16 for the continuation of the trial-within-trial.
