EFCC tried to pressure co-defendant to indict Emefiele, witness alleges

A defence witness, Nnamdi Offial, told the Special Offences Court in Ikeja on Thursday that officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) attempted to coerce his client, Henry Omoile, into implicating former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.

Offial, representing Omoile, the second defendant in the ongoing alleged $4.5bn and ₦2.8m fraud trial, made the claim during a trial-within-a-trial ordered by Justice Rahman Oshodi to determine whether Omoile’s statement to the EFCC was voluntary.

He alleged that investigators promised bail and possible non-prosecution if Omoile provided incriminating evidence against Emefiele. Both men face charges of corruption, gratification, and conferring unlawful advantages, but have pleaded not guilty.

Offial testified that EFCC interrogators restricted Omoile to a rigid question-and-answer format, refusing to let him write responses that did not align with their expectations. “On several occasions, questions were put to the second defendant and he answered, but he was not allowed to write them down because the answers did not conform to what the interrogators wanted him to say,” he said.

He recounted that after a February 26, 2024 session, officers informed him Omoile would remain in detention. The next day, he discovered his client being interrogated without his presence, leading to a confrontation with an officer identified as David, who escorted him out of the premises.

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Offial said Omoile was detained for 21 days, prompting him to file a fundamental rights enforcement suit. Justice Muslim Hamza later granted bail but ordered Omoile’s remand at Ikoyi Correctional Centre until conditions were met.

During cross-examination, EFCC prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) extracted admissions from Offial. He confirmed that Omoile was cautioned in his presence, signed the caution, and that he participated in the statement-taking process knowing it could be used in court.

Offial admitted he did not file a petition against EFCC misconduct and acknowledged that the judge in the rights suit did not indict the commission. He also conceded that his client was not harassed in his presence.

Justice Oshodi adjourned the matter to January 16, 2026, for continuation of the trial-within-a-trial.

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