Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has granted permission to former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele to engage forensic experts to examine WhatsApp conversations and a mobile device marked “iPhone 2” that were tendered as evidence in his ongoing trial.
Justice Oshodi held that Emefiele has the right to conduct an independent forensic review of the evidence presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), provided that safeguards are in place to protect the integrity of the evidence.
The EFCC had arraigned Emefiele and one Herry Omoile before the court on a 26-count charge of accepting gratification and gifts through agents and fraudulent property receipt.
In the charge filed on April 3, 2025, by the anti-graft agency’s prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), he was also accused of conferring corrupt advantage on his associates contrary to the Corrupt Practices Act of 2000.
Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo (SAN) had urged the court to allow an independent forensic expert to inspect the handset and verify the authenticity of the extracted WhatsApp messages presented as evidence.
Ojo told the judge that permission is necessary to determine the genuineness of the evidence and that this can only be done by engaging a forensic expert to examine both the mobile device and the printed conversations.
In response, EFCC counsel Charity Okezie opposed the application, arguing that exhibits admitted during the trial remain in the court’s custody and must remain in their original form until the case was concluded.
Okezie also expressed concern that the defence had not disclosed the name of the forensic laboratory or the qualifications of the personnel who would handle the device.
The lawyer further asked the court to appoint the EFCC’s director of the Forensic Department to select the laboratory, ensure the exercise is monitored by a prosecution-nominated representative, and maintain a strict chain of custody.
In his ruling, Justice Oshodi ordered that the inspection be conducted in the presence of representatives from all parties, with each party allowed one lawyer and one forensic expert.
The court directed that the process be supervised by a court representative and conducted between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on September 24 and 26, 2025.
Justice Oshodi also held that Exhibit E (iPhone 2) must be preserved in the chain of custody and remain in the court’s custody at all times.
He adjourned the matter to October 7 and 8, 2025, to continue the trial.
