An Ikeja Special Offences Court has fixed September 15 to rule on an application filed by former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, seeking forensic analysis of WhatsApp messages presented as evidence in his ongoing $4.5 billion and ₦2.8 billion fraud trial.
Emefiele is facing a 19-count charge bordering on making corrupt demands and receiving gratification, while his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, is facing a three-count charge for unlawful acceptance of gifts by agents.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, Emefiele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, requested the court’s permission to allow a forensic expert to examine the mobile device used in extracting WhatsApp conversations that were admitted as evidence.
“The defence is seeking the leave of the court to call a forensic expert to examine both the mobile device and printed conversations allegedly linked to the defendants,” Ojo told the court.
However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by Chigozie Okezie, opposed the motion. She argued that once an item is admitted as an exhibit, the court becomes its custodian and the evidence must remain in its original form until the trial concludes.
Okezie also highlighted that the defence failed to specify the duration of the proposed forensic analysis, did not name the forensic laboratory to be used, nor outline the qualifications of the personnel to handle the task.
She proposed that the director of the EFCC’s forensic department should nominate an appropriate lab and that the examination be conducted in the presence of a qualified individual nominated by the prosecution, with safeguards for the chain of custody.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Rahman Oshodi adjourned the matter until September 15 for ruling on the forensic request.
