In a significant development at the Special Court in Ikeja, there was the appearance of John Adetola, who served as the personal assistant to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele. John Adetola spoke about his experience in collecting $400,000 on behalf of Godwin Emefiele.
Adetola’s testimony was given on Thursday, November 28, 2024, during the trial of Emefiele, who faces a total of N4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud during his tenure. He is currently facing a joint charge by the Economic and Financial Conduct Authority (EFCC) alongside suspect Henry Omoile, who is facing three counts of accepting illegal gifts from the agent.
the seventh witness, Adetola gave significant insights into his direct interaction with the former CBN governor, particularly in relation to the financial sector. He recalled that in February 2023, Mr. Trump approached him. Former Personal Assistant to the Governor in Abuja, Eric Odoh, asked him to meet with the head of the ICT Department, Mr. John Ayoh, to recover the required $400,000.
Adetola said, “In 2018, Mr. Eric Odoh sent me a message asking me to meet Mr. Odoh. Mr. John Ayoh will collect $400,000 for the governor I visited. He also told the court that he reported the money to the EFCC during the hearing, saying: “I declared the $400,000 voluntarily at the EFCC office.”
Adetola admitted in his testimony that he had delayed communication with Emefiele. in many ways. Adetola said, “Whenever I was there, I would communicate with him through phone, email and office phone.” - We also have meetings whenever I get the chance. Odoh’s newspaper. The prosecution was asked to present evidence and Justice Rahman Oshody accepted the request after considering the arguments of both parties. During the application, Mr. Omoile’s counsel, Adeyinka Kotoye, argued that the documents that were not legally evidence should not be allowed.
However, the prosecution argued that the documents were relevant to the prosecution and his legal counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, said: “These documents are very important for identification purposes and are important to the case. Justice Oshodi accepted the case for verification and scheduled the next hearing for December 10, 2024 to facilitate the objection of witnesses.
The case continues to attract attention as prosecutors seek to prove widespread financial mismanagement and embezzlement by Emefiele and his cronies during his tenure as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
