Alleged $4.5bn Fraud: Emefiele's co-defendant admits lying in EFCC statement

Henry Omoile, co-defendant in the alleged $4.5 billion fraud case involving former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele, has told the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja that he lied in a statement he made to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

But he said he lied because of the threat he received from the EFCC.

Mr Omoile made the disclosure on Friday while testifying in a trial-within-trial before a judge, Rahman Oshodi.

The mini-trial was instituted to determine whether Mr Omoile’s statement to the EFCC was made voluntarily or otherwise.

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According to him, the statements marked as Exhibits TWT 1–4 did not contain a genuine confession, and he wrote only what investigators allegedly instructed him to write.

“The statement exhibits in trial-within-trial 1–4, I did not confess in that statement. I lied in my statement. EFCC threatened me that if I did not write what they wanted, they would charge me to court,” Mr Omoile told the court.

EFCC filed amended 26 counts against Mr Emefiele and Mr Omoile, who is named in only three of the counts.

The charges against Mr Emefiele include alleged abuse of office, contrary and punishable under Section 73 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2011; accepting gratification, contrary and punishable under Section 8 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000; corrupt demand, contrary and punishable under Section 10 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.

They also include receiving property fraudulently obtained, contrary to and punishable under Section 328 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2011; and conferring corrupt advantage, contrary to Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.

Mr Omoile faces only three counts, which relate to acceptance of gifts by agents, contrary to Section 65 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015..

Both have pleaded not guilty.

During cross-examination in the trial-within-trial by prosecution lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Omoile admitted that he was cautioned before making the statement and that he signed the cautionary words.

He also acknowledged that the EFCC had filed a counter-affidavit opposing his claims but said he did not produce it in court.

Mr Omoile further told the court that he had discussed with his lawyer about filing a fundamental human rights enforcement suit, confirming that the motion ex parte was tendered that morning.

He added that the ruling tendered had no direct bearing on Exhibit D4 but insisted both issues were connected.

“I just wanted to go home,” he said, explaining his reasons for initially cooperating with EFCC investigators.

He also denied filing any complaint or petition against the EFCC team over the alleged threats.

Earlier in the proceedings, Mr Omoile alleged that EFCC investigators tried to pressure him into implicating Mr Emefiele, claiming that the head of the investigative team, identified as Alvan Gurumnaan, promised he could secure bail or avoid charges if he provided incriminating evidence.

Mr Oshodi adjourned the matter to 17 April, for the adoption of final written addresses.

Background

The trial-within-trial was ordered to determine whether Mr Omoile’s statements to the EFCC were given voluntarily.

In December 2025, EFCC operative Mr Gurumnaan testified that Mr Omoile wrote his statements voluntarily and was cautioned in the presence of his lawyer.

The statements were allegedly aimed at providing evidence against Mr Emefiele.

Mr Gurumnaan said the statements were taken openly at the EFCC office in Ikoyi, with the lawyer and the Acting Managing Director of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) present, and no coercion or intimidation was used.

Mr Omoile’s lawyer, Nnamdi Offial, has accused the EFCC of pressuring his client into implicating Mr Emefiele, saying investigators promised bail or the possibility of avoiding charges if Mr Omoile provided incriminating evidence.

According to Mr Offial, the EFCC’s interrogation was conducted in a structured question-and-answer format, with answers not aligned with investigators’ expectations repeatedly rejected.

“On several occasions, questions were put to the second defendant, and he answered, but he was not allowed to write them down because the answer did not conform to what the interrogators wanted him to say. I objected to this many times,” Mr Offial told the court.

He also said he was temporarily barred from assisting Omoile during one session after questioning the interrogation process.

Messrs Omoile and Emefiele are standing trial on 22 counts, including accepting gratification, receiving gifts through agents, corruption, and fraudulent receipt of property.

Mr Emefiele was removed as the CBN governor over corruption allegations in 2023. He served for about nine years in office before his removal.