By Henry Ojelu
The forensic examination of a cell phone central to the $4.5 billion alleged fraud trial of former Central Financial institution of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has stalled, following a pointy disagreement between the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee, EFCC, and the Defence staff, over perform the court-ordered check.
On the resumed listening to earlier than Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja Particular Offences Court docket, yesterday, each events traded accusations over who was accountable for the failure of the forensic course of, which had been scheduled for September 24 and 25, 2025.
Emefiele, alongside his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, is dealing with a 19-count cost of alleged fraud, corruption, and abuse of workplace.
The EFCC had tendered an iPhone 12 containing WhatsApp messages as a part of its proof towards the previous apex financial institution chief.
The court docket had earlier ordered that the gadget, marked as “iPhone 2”, be subjected to a scientific forensic evaluation by consultants representing each side to find out the authenticity of the WhatsApp conversations in dispute.
Nevertheless, Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, instructed the court docket that the train couldn’t proceed as a result of the EFCC repeatedly obstructed efforts to entry the gadget.
In keeping with him, regardless of the presence of representatives from the prosecution, the defence, and the court docket’s Registrar, the fee refused to provide the telephone for examination.
Ojo mentioned: “The primary impediment was that the EFCC insisted the gadget couldn’t be totally uncovered to the staff. Then, on the second day, even when the Registrar clarified that your lordship’s order lined each the telephone and its WhatsApp contents, the EFCC representatives refused to provide it when the Apple professional demanded it. We had been instructed a categorical ‘No.’”
He urged the court docket to problem a recent directive compelling the EFCC to permit unrestricted entry to the telephone and its knowledge, arguing that the fee’s refusal amounted to a disobedience of the court docket’s order.
However EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, dismissed the defence’s claims as deceptive.
He mentioned: “The defence’s professional carried out a part of his evaluation through a reside web connection, which breaches forensic requirements. Connecting Exhibit E to the web might trigger knowledge to auto-sync, thereby altering or corrupting the contents.”
He maintained, “The prosecution has by no means, and can by no means, stop the defence from accessing the ability. However we insist that the method should be dealt with professionally to protect the integrity of the proof.”
Each Ojo and co-defence counsel, A. Kotoye, SAN, pressed the court docket to droop additional proceedings till the forensic report was prepared, stressing that the WhatsApp chats shaped a key a part of their defence and continuing with out them could be unfair.
Justice Oshodi, whereas noting the issues raised by each side, directed the EFCC to file its forensic report inside 24 hours.
Nevertheless, he allowed the continuation of the prosecution’s witness testimony, stating that the witness had travelled from Abuja for the listening to.
The decide additionally ordered each events to undertake digital submitting and repair of paperwork going ahead to keep away from pointless delays within the high-profile trial.
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