A defence witness, Mr Nnamdi Offial, on Thursday told the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, that officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) attempted to coerce his client, Mr Henry Omoile, into implicating former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele.
Offial, who represents Omoile—the second defendant in the ongoing $4.5bn and N2.8m fraud trial involving Emefiele—made the allegation while testifying in a trial-within-a-trial ordered by Justice Rahman Oshodi to determine whether Omoile’s statement to the EFCC was made voluntarily.
He alleged that EFCC investigators offered inducements, including promises of bail and possible non-prosecution, if Omoile agreed to provide incriminating evidence against Emefiele.
Emefiele and Omoile are standing trial on charges bordering on accepting gratification, receiving gifts through agents, corruption, and fraudulent receipt of property. They are also accused of conferring corrupt advantages on associates, contrary to the Corrupt Practices Act 2000. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.
At the resumed hearing, Offial told the court that the head of the EFCC interrogation team assured Omoile that cooperation would result in leniency.
He further alleged that investigators adopted a restrictive question-and-answer method, preventing Omoile from writing responses that did not align with what they wanted.
“On several occasions, questions were put to the second defendant and he answered, but he was not allowed to write them down because the answers did not conform to what the interrogators wanted him to say. I objected to this many times,” Offial said.
The lawyer recounted that after the interrogation session of February 26, 2024, EFCC officers informed him that Omoile would continue to be detained. He said that the following day, he found his client being interrogated in his absence and challenged the process.
Offial further alleged that an EFCC officer identified as David confronted him over his intervention, resulting in a confrontation that led to him being escorted out of the premises.
“I reported the incident to the team leader, who asked me to remain in the waiting area,” he said.
He added that he did not regain access to his client until about 8pm, when Omoile was returned to the detention facility.
“Later, I was told that he had refused to cooperate with them and that they were not going to release him. That was when I applied for bail from the EFCC zonal head,” Offial told the court.
He disclosed that Omoile was detained for 21 days, prompting him to file a fundamental rights enforcement suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
According to him, Justice Muslim Hamza granted bail but ordered that Omoile be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending the perfection of bail conditions.
During cross-examination by EFCC counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Offial admitted that investigators cautioned Omoile in his presence and that his client signed the cautionary statement.
He also confirmed that he participated in the statement-taking process and understood that anything written could be used against his client in court.
Offial further acknowledged that he did not file any petition against the EFCC over the alleged misconduct and that the judge in the fundamental rights suit did not indict the anti-graft agency. He also admitted that his client was not harassed in his presence.
Justice Oshodi adjourned the matter to January 16, 2026, for continuation of the trial-within-trial.
