March 17, (THEWILL) — A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday, drew a firm line against prolonged trial delays, fining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ₦500,000 over repeated adjournments in the ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The trial judge, Justice Hamza Mu’azu, imposed the sanction after the anti-graft agency failed to produce its 13th witness, DCP Edwin Okpoziakeo, who was billed to testify.
THEWILL reports that the former apex bank governor is facing a 20-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, forgery, abuse of office, conspiracy, and obtaining money by false pretence.
In the amended charge marked FCT/HC/CR/577/2023, the EFCC alleged that Emefiele unlawfully awarded contracts for the procurement of 43 vehicles valued at ₦1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020. He was also accused of conferring a corrupt advantage on a CBN staff member, Sa’adatu Ramallan Yaro, by awarding her company, April 1616 Investment Ltd., a contract for the supply of 37 Toyota Hilux vehicles worth ₦854 million. These, in addition to the allegation that the former CBN Chief fraudulently obtained $6.23 million purportedly meant for foreign election observers during the 2023 general elections.
He has, however, pleaded not guilty to all charges and remains on bail pending the determination of the case.
At the resumed hearing of the trial on Tuesday, EFCC counsel, A.O. Mohammed, told the court that the 13th witness, DCP Okpoziakeo, who is a serving police officer and member of the investigative team, was unavailable due to administrative bottlenecks. He explained that although the witness had been notified, the police hierarchy demanded a formal letter to the Inspector-General of Police before permitting his appearance.
Mohammed added that despite complying with the directive, the witness later cited a personal engagement at another court in Gwagwalada, where his account was said to be under a garnishee order and, therefore, could not attend proceedings. He consequently sought an adjournment to enable the prosecution to present the witness.
The application was, however, strongly opposed by defence counsel, Matthew Burkaa, SAN, who argued that the prosecution had exceeded the number of adjournments allowed under Sections 396(3) and (4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015. He noted that the EFCC had already taken eight adjournments, surpassing the statutory limit of five.
Burkaa contended that the prosecution must bear the consequences of its witness’s failure to prioritise official duties, stressing that Emefiele should not suffer from what he described as bureaucratic inefficiencies. He urged the court to refuse any further adjournment.
Ruling on the application, Justice Mu’azu agreed that the prosecution had exceeded the permissible adjournments but held that the court retains discretion to grant further adjournments in the interest of justice. He emphasised that the witness, being central to the investigation, should not be shut out from the trial.
The court subsequently granted the adjournment, but sanctioned the EFCC with a ₦500,000 fine for delaying proceedings, sending a strong signal on the need for diligence in criminal prosecution.
The matter was adjourned to April 27 for the continuation of trial.
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