4 weeks ago
6
By Henry Ojelu
The forensic introspection of a mobile telephone cardinal to the $4.5 cardinal alleged fraud proceedings of erstwhile Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has stalled pursuing a crisp disagreement betwixt the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the defence squad implicit however to transportation retired the court-ordered test.
At the resumed proceeding earlier Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja Special Offences Court connected Tuesday, some parties traded accusations implicit who was liable for the nonaccomplishment of the forensic process, which had been scheduled for September 24 and 25, 2025.
Emefiele, alongside his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, is facing a 19-count complaint of alleged fraud, corruption, and maltreatment of office.
The EFCC had tendered an iPhone 12 containing WhatsApp messages arsenic portion of its grounds against the erstwhile apex slope chief.
The tribunal had earlier ordered that the device, marked arsenic “iPhone 2”, beryllium subjected to a technological forensic investigation by experts representing some sides to find the authenticity of the WhatsApp conversations successful dispute.
However, Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, told the tribunal that the workout could not proceed due to the fact that the EFCC repeatedly obstructed efforts to entree the device.
According to him, contempt the beingness of representatives from the prosecution, the defence, and the court’s Registrar, the committee refused to nutrient the telephone for examination.
Ojo said: “The archetypal obstacle was that the EFCC insisted the instrumentality could not beryllium afloat exposed to the team.Then, connected the 2nd day, adjacent erstwhile the Registrar clarified that your lordship’s bid covered some the telephone and its WhatsApp contents, the EFCC representatives refused to nutrient it erstwhile the Apple adept demanded it. We were told a categorical ‘No.’”
He urged the tribunal to contented a caller directive compelling the EFCC to let unrestricted entree to the telephone and its data, arguing that the commission’s refusal amounted to a disobedience of the court’s order.
But EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, dismissed the defence’s claims arsenic misleading.
He accused the defence of introducing an unqualified adept without a verifiable laboratory oregon bureau and warned that the defence’s methods could compromise the integrity of the integer evidence.
“The defence’s adept conducted portion of his investigation via a unrecorded net connection, which breaches forensic standards. Connecting Exhibit E to the net could origin information to auto-sync, thereby altering oregon corrupting the contents,” Oyedepo argued.
He maintained that the iPhone had been kept successful formation mode to guarantee it remained unaltered and insisted that the prosecution had nary volition of blocking the examination, lone that it indispensable beryllium done properly.
“The prosecution has never, and volition never, forestall the defence from accessing the facility. But we importune that the process indispensable beryllium handled professionally to sphere the integrity of the evidence,” Oyedepo said.
Both Ojo and co-defence counsel, A. Kotoye, SAN, pressed the tribunal to suspend further proceedings until the forensic study was ready, stressing that the WhatsApp chats formed a cardinal portion of their defence and proceeding without them would beryllium unfair.
Justice Oshodi, portion noting the concerns raised by some sides, directed the EFCC to record its forensic study wrong 24 hours.
However, helium allowed the continuation of the prosecution’s witnesser testimony, stating that the witnesser had travelled from Abuja for the hearing.
The justice besides ordered some parties to follow physics filing and work of documents going guardant to debar unnecessary delays successful the high-profile trial.
The EFCC is prosecuting Emefiele for allegedly receiving gratification, engaging successful corrupt practices, and abusing his bureau arsenic CBN Governor.
His co-defendant, Omoile, is separately facing 3 counts relating to the unlawful acceptance of gifts. Both men person pleaded not guilty.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, the prosecution’s witness, Alvan Gurumnaan, an EFCC operative, gave further grounds astir aggregate currency deliveries allegedly traced to Emefiele and his associates.
Gurumnaan told the tribunal that investigators had interviewed respective individuals, including unit of the CBN and Zenith Bank, arsenic portion of their probe.
He presented a bid of WhatsA...
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