Court grants EFCC leave to play disc in trial of CBN ex-gov, Emefiele

Emefiele

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on Tuesday granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) leave to play a compact disc as evidence in the trial of a former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

Emefiele is being prosecuted before Justice Maryanne Anenih by the EFCC on a six-count charge in which he, among others, was accused of unlawfully printing new naira notes (naira redesign).

Anenih granted the EFCC leave after the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, asked for it. At the resumed hearing on the matter, Oyedepo told the court that the business of the day was continuation of evidence of their seventh witness, PW 7.

He, however, said there were other intervening events.

“My attention was drawn to a motion filed by the defendant’s counsel yesterday, though I learnt it was served on EFCC on April 25.

“The request in that motion will have an impact on the evidence of the witness; in view of that, I communicated with the defendant’s counsel so that we can see how to go about it,” he said.

He informed the court that he had a motion patterning a compact disc, which he had sent to the defence.

He said the prosecution could only play it when a leave of the court is sought.

He therefore sought an adjournment for the parties to look at the issues together.

Responding, the defence counsel, Olulekun Ojo, SAN, informed the court that on April 24, the defence filed a disclosure motion asking for facilities. He said the filing of the motion could not stop the evidence of PW7 from going on because they stated that the facilities would be used at the trial.

“The facilities captured were what the prosecution stated to have provided at the inception of the case,” he said.