The Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja yesterday adjourned ruling on an application by former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele seeking forensic analysis of WhatsApp evidence in a $4.5 billion fraud case.
Emefiele is standing trial along with a co-defendant, Henry Omoile, on charges of fraud involving $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion in total
The former CBN governor is charged with counts of receiving gratification and making corrupt demands, while his co-defendant is facing charges related to the unlawful acceptance of gifts by agents.
At the resumed hearing on yesterday, Emefiele, through his counsel, Mr Olalekan Ojo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, asked the court for permission to conduct forensic analysis of a mobile phone used in extracting WhatsApp messages already tendered as evidence.
“The defence is seeking the leave of the court to call a forensic expert to examine both the mobile device and printed conversations allegedly linked to the defendants,” Ojo said.
The EFCC counsel, Ms Chigozie Okezie, opposed the application.
Okezie argued that by virtue of the rules of evidence and practice, once evidence of such nature had been admitted as an exhibit, the court became its custodian and retained it until the conclusion of the trial.
According to her, the essence of it is for the documents to remain in their original form as presented before the court.
She added that the duration of the forensic exercise was also not stated in the defendant’s application.
Okezie further noted that the defence failed to disclose the name of the forensic laboratory, the expertise, and the experience of the personnel to be used for the examination.
“What is more, the defendants ought to have presented options of forensic laboratories, stating their competence for the court to pick from.
“We pray the court to nominate the director of forensic department in the commission to select a laboratory for the exercise.
“We also urge the court to direct that the examination be conducted in the presence of a person with vast experience and knowledge, to be nominated by the prosecution.
“There should be room for proper chain of custody to ensure the device is not tampered with and is returned to the court upon conclusion of the exercise,” she said.
After listening to the submission of both parties, the trial judge, Rahman Oshodi, adjourned the case until September 15 for ruling.
Emefiele, who was removed from office as CBN governor in 2023, is standing trial on various charges stemming acts attributed to him while in office.
He is standing trial in Abuja on various corruption charges including fraudulent acquisition of an estate with over 700 housing units.
NAN
