By Ayomide Otitoju
The Lagos High Court in Ikeja continued its hearing on Thursday in the case against former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, with the seventh prosecution witness, Mr. John Adetola, testifying about a $400,000 transaction involving the former CBN Governor.
Adetola, who served as Executive Assistant to Emefiele, explained that in 2018, he was instructed by Emefiele’s personal assistant, Eric Odoh, to collect the money from John Ayoh, the former director of the CBN’s ICT department. Adetola stated that he was summoned to Lagos from his new posting in Ekiti to pick up the funds and hand them over to Emefiele when he arrived in Lagos.
“I went to the house of John Ayoh at Lekki, where he gave me an envelope with the $400,000. I then returned to the office and handed the envelope over to the former CBN Governor,” Adetola testified. He further revealed that he had shared this information with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) during their investigation.
The witness also spoke about his professional background, noting that he had known Emefiele from his time as Managing Director at Zenith Bank before joining the CBN in 2014.
During cross-examination, Adetola was asked about his communication with Emefiele, to which he confirmed that they regularly communicated via telephone, office lines, email, and in person. He also identified several of Emefiele’s family members, including his brothers, George and Okanta, and his wife, Margaret Emefiele.
In his testimony, Adetola described how he was invited by the EFCC in February 2023 and provided voluntary statements regarding the case. He also explained that the EFCC had accessed his phone, which contained official documents related to the CBN, including communications with Ayoh and Odoh.
The EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, presented the documents found on Adetola’s phone for identification purposes. Although Emefiele’s counsel, Olaleko Ojo, initially raised objections to their admissibility, he later withdrew them. However, the defense counsel for Emefiele’s co-defendant, Henry Omoile, Adeyinka Kotoye, maintained that the documents had no legal basis and should not be tendered.
Justice Rahman Oshodi, after considering the arguments, admitted the documents for identification purposes. The court has adjourned the case to December 10 for the cross-examination of the witness.
