The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court in Abuja, on Tuesday, March 17, imposed a ₦500,000 fine on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for delaying the corruption trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The trial judge, Hamza Muazu, imposed the fine after the EFCC failed to produce its next prosecution witness, thereby stalling proceedings scheduled for Tuesday.
The EFCC is prosecuting Emefiele on 20 amended counts, including criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining by false pretence, conspiracy to commit forgery, procurement fraud, and conspiracy to commit a felony.
The commission accused the former CBN governor of conferring corrupt advantages on two companies April 1616 Nigeria Ltd and Architekon Nigeria Ltd.
It also alleged that he authorised a fraudulent payment of $6.23 million from the CBN vault in Abuja in 2023, under the guise of payments for fictitious foreign election observers’ expenses.
Emefiele has denied all the charges.
Muazu adjourned the matter after the EFCC’s 12th prosecution witness concluded testimony on Monday.
The EFCC was expected to present its 13th prosecution witness on Tuesday.
However, the proposed witness, Edwin Okpoziakeo, a deputy Commissioner of Police (CP) who participated in the investigation, was absent from court.
The prosecution counsel, A.O. Mohammed, informed the court that the witness, though duly notified, was unavailable due to administrative procedures.
He stated that he had been directed by the Force Headquarters to write a formal letter to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) requesting the witness’s presence in court, which he promptly did.
He added that Okpoziakeo later informed him that he had a personal matter in another court in Gwagwalada, FCT, where his personal account was under a garnishee order.
The prosecution counsel, therefore, pleaded with the court to grant an adjournment to enable him to produce the witness.
However, defence counsel, Matthew Burkaa, vehemently opposed the request.
Burkaa referred the court to Sections 396(3) and (4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, which limit each party to five adjournments from arraignment to final judgment.
He argued that the EFCC had already been granted eight adjournments, contrary to the provisions of the law.
He further stated that the prosecution had prioritised the witness’s personal matter over official proceedings.
Burkaa also noted that the EFCC had earlier requested an accelerated hearing of the case.
He added that since 2023, the court had indulged the prosecution with eight adjournments and urged the court not to grant any further delays.
In his ruling, the judge agreed with the defence but noted that the court retains the discretion to grant an adjournment in the interest of justice.
He held that an investigator should not be excluded from a matter of such nature.
However, he imposed a ₦500,000 fine on the EFCC for delaying the trial despite previously being granted accelerated hearing.
Muazu subsequently adjourned the case until April 27 for continuation of trial.
Earlier on Monday, an EFCC investigator testified that Emefiele was not a signatory to the accounts of the two companies to which he allegedly awarded contracts.
“My evidence never mentioned April 1616; however, the defendant is not a signatory to its account. I cannot recall if he is a director or shareholder,” said the investigator, David Jaiyeoba, the 12th prosecution witness.
The witness further stated that Emefiele was neither a signatory, director, nor shareholder of Architekon Nigeria Limited.
He made this statement under cross-examination by Emefiele’s lawyer, Matthew Burkaa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
The EFCC is prosecuting Emefiele on multiple counts, including criminal breach of trust, forgery, obtaining by false pretence, procurement fraud, and conspiracy.
The commission alleged that April 1616 Nigeria Ltd belongs to Sa’adatu Ramalan-Yaro, an associate of Emefiele and a CBN employee.
The 10th prosecution witness, Salawu Gana, a former Head of Procurement at the CBN, testified in February 2025 that confidential bidding information was leaked to Ms Ramalan-Yaro and April 1616 Investment Limited.
The alleged transactions occurred between 2018 and 2020 during Emefiele’s tenure as CBN governor.
The EFCC initially arraigned Ramalan-Yaro alongside Emefiele.
However, an amendment to the charges in 2024 led to her discharge from the case, while the charges against Emefiele were reduced.
Other allegations include the fraudulent payout of $6.23 million from the CBN vault in 2023 for fictitious election observer expenses.
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