A Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has postponed ruling until Wednesday on whether Justice Rahman Oshodi will continue presiding over the trial of former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The adjournment followed a request from Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, who urged the judge to recuse himself from the case, alleging bias.
His co-defendant, Henry Omoile, through his counsel Kazeem Gbadamosi, also made a similar plea.
Emefiele is facing a 19-count charge related to corruption and gratification, brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Omoile, on the other hand, is accused of three counts of unlawful acceptance of gifts.
At Monday’s hearing, the EFCC’s lead prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, concluded the testimony of Adetola John, a former personal assistant to Emefiele.
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During questioning, Adetola reaffirmed his previous testimony from November 2024, where he stated that he had received $400,000 in cash from former CBN ICT Director, John Ayoh, and handed it to Emefiele at his office.
As part of his testimony, Oyedepo presented a WhatsApp message from Eric Odoh, Emefiele’s personal assistant in Abuja, which was retrieved from Adetola’s phone during EFCC’s investigation.
However, the defence team objected, arguing that the document was not officially admitted as evidence and that the witness should not be questioned about it.
Justice Oshodi overruled the defence’s objections, citing Section 224 of the Evidence Act, which permits leading questions for introductory or undisputed facts.
He allowed the witness to read from the document.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, defence lawyer Ojo argued that by admitting the document, the court had effectively prejudged the matter, making it difficult for the defence to cross-examine the witness fairly.
He insisted that the judge’s actions suggested bias, leading him to request that Justice Oshodi step down from the case.
In response, EFCC counsel Oyedepo strongly opposed the recusal request.
The court will rule on the matter on Wednesday, February 26.
Oyedepo said, “In this proceeding, your lordship had numerous times ruled against the prosecution, and if the defence is dissatisfied with the ruling of the court, they can appeal.
“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 allegation of bias.
“This is a form of delay tactics 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.
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“The court had earlier granted accelerated hearing in this case and I urge this honourable court to ask the defence to cross-examine the witness.”
Justice Oshodi set February 25 as the date to deliver his ruling on the arguments presented.
During the session, Emefiele’s lawyer informed the court about a fresh application requesting authorization for the former CBN governor to challenge the January 8, 2025, ruling, in which the court affirmed its jurisdiction over the case.
