The FCT High Court in Abuja on Thursday deferred indefinitely the testimonies of three proposed prosecution witnesses in the procurement fraud trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele.
Trial judge Hamza Muazu suspended the testimonies of two subpoenaed witnesses out the three in the group, Tommy Odama and Ifeanyi Omeke, based on a previous ruling in March striking out the prosecution’s additional proof of evidence in the case.
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The third proposed prosecution witness lined up by the EFCC to testified on Thursday is Alvan Grumman.
Although, Mr Grumman’s name was not mentioned in the ruling that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) challenged in the Court of Appeal, the judge rejected his eligibility to stand as a witness and asked the prosecution team to wait for the decision of the appellate court.
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Also, Mr Muazu noted that the court cannot “change its own ruling by allowing the subpoenaed witnesses to testify in the case.”
EFCC has presented 10 prosecution witnesses yet.
He then adjourned the case till 29 January 2026 for continuation of hearing.
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Mr Grumman was supposed to be the 11th prosecution witness.
The EFCC is prosecuting Mr Emefiele on 20 counts of criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to obtain money by false pretences, and corruption during his tenure as CBN governor.
The prosecution accused the former CBN governor of conferring corrupt advantages on two companies—April 1616 Nigeria Ltd and Architekon Nigeria Ltd.
Mr Emefiele was accused of conferring corrupt advantages on Sa’adatu Ramalan-Yaro, using her firm, April 1616 Investment Limited, to execute several procurement contracts spanning years.
The alleged corrupt transactions took place between 2018 and 2020, according to the charges.
Mr Emefiele pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The case is not the only criminal trial Mr Emefiele is grappling with. He faces two other cases, including one that has to do with illegal naira redesign, in Lagos and Abuja.
Background
In March, the FCT High Court rejected the additional proof of evidence brought by the EFCC to bolster the corruption case.
The additional proof of evidence sought to introduce two new prosecution witnesses with fresh documents relevant to their anticipated testimonies in court.
Mr Muazu held that the anti-graft agency had, on 12 February 2024, first filed additional proof of evidence against the former CBN governor to accommodate the evidence of a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and one Bamayi Haruna Mairiga.
He also noted that the charges against Mr Emefiele were filed on 14 August 2023 and his plea taken on 16 November 2023.
He said that the action of the EFCC appeared like a push for a denial of fair trial because the defendant was not confronted with the new evidence during investigation as required by law.
Mr Muazu added the action of the prosecution is akin to “trial by ambush and a clear case of fishing for evidence in the trial” that commenced on 28 November 2023.
In the ruling, the judge agreed that allowing the additional proof of evidence after the charge had been amended severally was prejudicial to the defendant, as his right to fair hearing is being breached.
Mr Muazu held that the position of the law is that a charge is filed upon the completion of investigation.
In October, the EFCC requested the court to summon Messrs Odama and Omeke, arguing that they had the material of the case.
READ ALSO: Aide received $17.1 million for Emefiele for three years, EFCC investigator tells court
Similarly, EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), noted that Mr Grumman was the investigator in the case.
Meanwhile, defence lawyer Matthew Burkaa, a SAN, noted that the prosecution’s submission was an abuse of court proceedings, and they were all bound by March’s ruling.
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