Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State High Court has reserved ruling on the admissibility of digital evidence in the trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The judge fixed the date after a heated exchange between prosecution and defence lawyers over the authenticity and certification of certain electronic documents extracted from a previous witness, the former Executive Assistant to the CBN Governor, Mr. John Adetola.
The courtroom debate arose during the continuation of testimony by EFCC operative, Alvan Gurumnaan, who was led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN). Gurumnaan detailed how investigators uncovered a digital trail linked to alleged financial transactions involving Emefiele.
According to the EFCC, part of the electronic evidence includes WhatsApp conversations between key individuals in the case, notably a chat with Mr. Eric Eboh, in which instructions were allegedly given to deliver $400,000 to the former CBN Governor. The witness testified that the money was reportedly delivered, but that efforts to locate and interview Mr. Eboh remain ongoing.
While the court admitted some documents dated February 2024 without objection, the defence team strongly opposed the admission of other materials retrieved from Adetola’s phone. They argued that the documents lacked proper certification in line with the provisions of the Evidence Act.
Justice Oshodi adjourned proceedings, indicating that he would deliver a ruling on whether the contested digital materials would be admitted as evidence in the next hearing.
