Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has rejected the additional evidence submitted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in his alleged procurement fraud trial.
Delivering his ruling on a motion filed by Emefiele to challenge the EFCC’s action, Justice Muazu noted that the EFCC had previously filed additional evidence on February 12, 2024, to include testimonies from Boss Mustapha, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and Bamayi Haruna Mairiga.
The judge pointed out that the charge against Emefiele had been filed on August 14, 2023, and his plea was taken on November 16, 2023. Justice Muazu ruled that the EFCC’s action amounted to a denial of fair trial because Emefiele had not been confronted with the new evidence during the investigation, as required by law.
Justice Muazu further described the EFCC’s actions as “trial by ambush,” and criticized them for what he saw as a fishing expedition for evidence in a trial that began on November 28, 2023.
The judge emphasized that allowing additional evidence after the charge had been amended multiple times would be prejudicial to the defendant, violating his right to a fair hearing.
Although the judge ruled against the EFCC’s attempt to introduce the additional evidence, he declined to strike out the charge, noting that both the prosecution and defense had already addressed the issue, and the trial was nearing completion. He stated that justice would be best served by allowing the trial to proceed and a final judgment to be delivered.
Furthermore, Justice Muazu rejected Emefiele’s request to expunge the evidence from Boss Mustapha and Bamayi Haruna Mairiga, arguing that their testimony did not violate Section 36(2) of the 1999 Constitution on fair hearing.
The additional evidence submitted by the EFCC on October 15, 2024, sought to introduce new witnesses, Tommy Odama John and Ifeanyi Omeke, whose statements were made in August 2024, regarding charges that were filed in August 2023.
Emefiele, through his lead counsel, Mathew Burkaa, SAN, had argued that the evidence from Mustapha and Mairiga was introduced without confronting him with their extrajudicial statements, made after the trial had already started.
Justice Muazu has scheduled the continuation of the trial for June 3.
