Emefiele asks judge to recuse himself from trial over alleged bias

Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has requested that Rahman Oshodi, the judge of an Ikeja special offences court, step down from his ongoing trial over an alleged $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud case. 

Emefiele is facing 19 charges, including abuse of office, receiving gratification, and corrupt demands, brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The anti-graft agency had initially filed 22 charges against Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile.

During the trial on Monday, February 24, Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, objected to the judge’s decision to allow a leading question despite the defence’s protest. As the proceedings continued, EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo led testimony from the seventh prosecution witness, John Adetola. Oyedepo referred to an earlier statement where Adetola claimed he had received a bribe from John Ayoh and delivered it to Emefiele at his office. He then asked Adetola to verify a WhatsApp message from Eric Odoh, which had been retrieved from his phone by EFCC investigators. The defence objected, arguing that the document had only been marked for identification and was not yet an official exhibit, making it improper for the witness to read or comment on it at that stage.

The court overruled the objection, citing section 224 of the Evidence Act, which allows leading questions for introductory or undisputed matters. Unhappy with the ruling, the defence refused to cross-examine the witness and instead filed an application asking the judge to recuse himself from the case. In response, Oyedepo opposed the request, arguing that the judge had previously ruled against the prosecution multiple times, demonstrating impartiality.

“In this proceeding, your lordship had numerous times ruled against the prosecution numerous times, and if the defence is dissatisfied with the ruling of the court, they can appeal,” Oyedepo stated. “I do not know what the defence is trying to prove by telling this court to recuse itself because in this case, there is no evidence of an allegation of bias. This is a form of delay tactic, and I urge your lordship to discountenance this application because a reasonable person in this court will realise that this application is meant to delay this trial. The court had earlier granted an accelerated hearing in this case, and I urge this honourable court to ask the defence to cross-examine the witness.”

The judge has adjourned the case until February 26 to rule on the application. Meanwhile, Ojo also informed the court of a pending application challenging its jurisdiction to hear Emefiele’s case, which is also scheduled for a hearing on February 26.