Justice Rahman Oshodi of a Lagos Special Offences Court, Ikeja, has fixed September 15 for ruling on the application filed by the embattled former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, seeking a forensic review of WhatsApp evidence in a $4.5 billion alleged fraud case.
Emefiele is challenging the authenticity of digital messages presented by the prosecution in an ongoing trial before the court. He requested that the court permit a forensic analysis of a mobile phone used to extract WhatsApp messages, which were presented as evidence in court.
The counsel representing Emefiele, Mr Olalekan Ojo (SAN), made the application for permission to call a forensic expert to examine both the phone identified as an “iPhone 2” and the printed conversations.
The prosecution counsel, Chineye Okezie, in her submission, argued that by the rules of evidence and practice, once evidence of this nature has been admitted as Exhibit, the court becomes the custodian of that Exhibit and retains the same until the conclusion of the trial.
She said that the essence of it is for the documents to remain in the actual form.
She further told the court that the defence counsel had not stated the name of the lab, its expertise, or the experience of the personnel who would examine the device.
She said, “What is more, the defendants ought to have presented options of forensic labs stating their competence for the court to pick from. We pray that the court nominate the director of the forensic department in the commission to select a lab for the exercise.
“In making the order, the court should direct that the examination be conducted in the presence of a person with such vast experience and knowledge to be nominated by the prosecution.
“Also, there must be a proper chain of custody to ensure the device isn’t tampered with and is returned to the court upon conclusion of the exercise. The duration of the forensic exercise was also not stated in their application”.
However, Emefiele, alongside his co-accused Henry Omoile, are standing trial on a 19-count charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on allegations of money laundering and fraud totalling $4.5 billion and ₦2.8 billion.
The court subsequently adjourned the matter to September 15, 2025, for ruling on the application.
