By Fresh Facts Magazine –
Ikeja, Lagos –
A defence witness on Thursday alleged before the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, that officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) attempted to coerce his client into implicating former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, in an ongoing high-profile corruption trial.
The witness, Mr. Nnamdi Offial, counsel to Mr. Henry Omoile—the second defendant in the $4.5 billion and ₦2.8 million fraud case involving Emefiele—made the allegation while testifying in a trial-within-a-trial ordered by Justice Rahman Oshodi. The mini-trial is aimed at determining whether Omoile’s statement to the EFCC was made voluntarily.
Offial told the court that EFCC investigators offered inducements to Omoile, including the promise of bail and possible non-prosecution, if he agreed to provide incriminating evidence against Emefiele.
Emefiele and Omoile are standing trial on charges bordering on accepting gratification, receiving gifts through agents, corruption, and fraudulent receipt of property. The EFCC also accuses them of conferring corrupt advantages on associates, offences said to be contrary to the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
At the resumed hearing, Offial testified that the head of the EFCC interrogation team assured Omoile that cooperation with investigators would earn him leniency. He further alleged that the statement-taking process was conducted in a restrictive question-and-answer format, with investigators refusing to allow Omoile to write responses that did not align with their expectations.
“On several occasions, questions were put to the second defendant and he answered, but he was not allowed to write them down because the answers did not conform to what the interrogators wanted him to say. I objected to this many times,” Offial told the court.
The defence counsel also recounted events following the interrogation session of February 26, 2024, stating that EFCC officers informed him that Omoile would continue to be detained. According to him, the following day he discovered that his client was being interrogated in his absence and challenged the process.
Offial alleged that an EFCC officer identified as David confronted him over his intervention, leading to a confrontation that resulted in him being escorted out of the premises.
“I reported the incident to the team leader, who asked me to remain in the waiting area,” he said.
He added that he was unable to see his client again until about 8:00 p.m., when Omoile was returned to the detention facility.
“Later, I was told that he had refused to cooperate with them and that they were not going to release him. That was when I applied for bail from the EFCC zonal head,” Offial stated.
The witness further disclosed that Omoile was detained by the EFCC for 21 days, prompting him to file a fundamental rights enforcement suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos. He said Justice Muslim Hamza granted bail but ordered that Omoile be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending the perfection of bail conditions.
However, during cross-examination by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Offial made several admissions. He confirmed that Omoile was duly cautioned in his presence and that his client signed the cautionary statement. He also admitted that he participated in the statement-taking process and was aware that anything written could be used against Omoile in court.
Offial further acknowledged that he did not file any petition or formally report the alleged misconduct to authorities. He also conceded that the judge in the fundamental rights enforcement suit did not indict the EFCC for misconduct, and that his client was not harassed in his presence.
Justice Oshodi adjourned the matter to January 16, 2026, for the continuation of the trial-within-a-trial.
Fresh Facts Magazine will continue to monitor developments in the case.
