Reported by: Ime Richard Aondofa | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, has testified that Omoile voluntarily made his statements to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) without any form of coercion. The witness, Alvan Gurumnaan, appeared before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, during a trial-within-trial to determine whether the statements were obtained freely or under duress.
Gurumnaan, an EFCC operative, stated that Omoile’s claims of coercion were unfounded, insisting that the statements were made in a transparent and open setting. “The second defendant did not make any statement under duress. Our officers do not force statements through violence,” he testified, adding that the defendant even signed the documents, acknowledging that his lawyer was present during the process.
He described the interrogation environment as an open conference room at the EFCC Lagos Zonal Directorate, noting that Omoile appeared with legal representation and a senior official from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS). Although he admitted that there was no video recording of the interrogation, Gurumnaan explained that “certain circumstances sometimes make video recordings impossible.”
The court admitted four statements into evidence, three dated February 26, 2024, and one dated February 27, 2024. The trial—centered on allegations of a $4.5 billion fraud involving Emefiele during his tenure as CBN Governor—will resume on January 15 and 16, 2026. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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