EFCC operative testifies that Henry Omoile voluntarily made statements in the $4.5bn fraud trial involving ex-CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, despite defence claims of coercion. Court admits four statements as evidence
$4.5bn Emefiele Fraud Case: EFCC Witness Insists Omoile’s Statements Were Voluntary in Ongoing Trial
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, told the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, that the second defendant, Henry Omoile, voluntarily made the statements attributed to him in the ongoing $4.5 billion fraud trial involving former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Emefiele faces a 19-count charge bordering on gratification and corrupt demands, while Omoile, his co-defendant, is answering to three counts relating to the unlawful acceptance of gifts. Both men have pleaded not guilty.
Testifying in a trial-within-trial, EFCC operative Alvan Gurumnaan insisted that Omoile’s statements were given freely and without coercion.
“The second defendant did not make any statement under duress. Our officers do not force statements through violence or intimidation,” he told the court, adding that the burden of proving duress rested with the defence.
At the last sitting on October 9, 2025, prosecuting counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) sought to tender Omoile’s extra-judicial statements as evidence. However, defence counsel Kotoye Adeyinka (SAN) objected, claiming the statements were not voluntarily made — prompting Justice Oshodi to order a trial-within-trial.
Gurumnaan, a former member of the EFCC’s Special Operations Unit in Lagos, recounted that Omoile made the statements at the Commission’s conference room in Block A of its Lagos Directorate on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi. He described the room as “a large, open conference space routinely used by the Special Operations Team.”
He said he was taken aback by suggestions of coercion, noting that Omoile arrived at the EFCC office on February 26, 2024, in the company of the Acting Managing Director of NIBSS and his lawyer, E. N. Offiong.
“The statements were taken openly. There is no way we could have done that under threat,” he said.
The court admitted four statements — three dated February 26, 2024, and one dated February 27, 2024 — as Exhibits 1–4. Gurumnaan confirmed that Omoile was under EFCC custody at the time and had been duly cautioned, adding that the cautionary words were administered by another team member, Azeez Ajigbotosho.
“The statements were signed by the second defendant. He even wrote, ‘I am making this statement in the presence of my lawyer, Offiong,’” the witness added.
Although one of the statements did not explicitly mention the lawyer’s presence, Gurumnaan insisted Offiong was present on both days and submitted the EFCC visitors’ register as proof.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Olalekan Ojo (SAN) and Adeyinka (SAN), he admitted the statements were not video-recorded — a step that ordinarily forms part of the EFCC’s documentation procedure — but explained that operational realities sometimes make recordings impractical.
Justice Oshodi adjourned further hearing in the trial-within-trial to January 15 and 16, 2026. Read More
