Prosecution Witness Alleges $400,000 Transaction Involving Former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele
In a dramatic twist in the ongoing trial of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, the 7th prosecution witness, Mr John Adetola, has made startling revelations about a $400,000 transaction allegedly carried out on behalf of the former CBN chief.
Adetola, who identified himself as an Executive Assistant to Emefiele, took the stand on Thursday to testify before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja High Court. He disclosed that his role as Executive Assistant granted him direct access to Emefiele and involved tasks such as managing office correspondence, attending to visitors, and performing other duties as assigned by his boss.
Defense Objections and Court Ruling
The defense team, led by Olalekan Ojo, SAN, representing Emefiele, initially raised objections to the admissibility of the documents but later withdrew their objections after Oyedepo clarified that the documents were being tendered solely for identification purposes.
However, Adeyinka Kotoye, SAN, counsel for the second defendant, Henry Omoile, maintained his objection, arguing that the documents lacked a proper legal basis for admission. He contended that the documents did not meet the evidentiary standards required for admissibility in court.
In response, Oyedepo insisted that the documents were crucial to establishing key elements of the alleged offense.
After considering the arguments from both sides, Justice Rahman Oshodi ruled in favor of admitting the documents, marking them for identification purposes only.
