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EFCC operatives
Another twist of corruption within the anti-corruption fight was Thursday injected into the ongoing trial of former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele when Mr. Nnamdi Offial, a defence witness, told the court how his client, Henry Omoile, was coerced by EFCC officials to implicate Emefiele.
Offial told the Special Offences Court in Ikeja that officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission tried to coerce his client, Henry Omoile, into implicating Emefiele.
Offial represents Omoile, the second defendant in the ongoing $4.5bn and N2.8m fraud trial of Emefiele. He 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 given voluntarily.
Offial shocked the court when he claimed that EFCC investigators offered inducements which included the promise of bail and possible non-prosecution, if Omoile agreed to provide incriminating evidence against Emefiele.
Recall that Emefiele and Omoile are both facing charges bordering on gratification, receiving gifts through agents, corruption, and fraudulent receipt of property, among other charges.
They have pleaded not guilty.
However, at the resumed hearing on Thursday, Offial testified that the head of the EFCC interrogation team assured his client Omoile that cooperation would earn him leniency.
Offial alleged that EFCC gave his client no room to fully express his mind, claiming that investigators conducted the interrogation in a restrictive question-and-answer format, refusing to allow Omoile to write responses that did not align with their expectations.
“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 told the court.
Offial said that after the session of February 26, 2024, officers informed him they would continue to detain Omoile; adding that the following day, he found his client being interrogated without his presence by EFCC officials.
He said he challenged the process by was EFCC stood their ground
Offial recalled that an officer named David confronted him over his intervention, leading to a showdown in which he was 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 could not access Omoile again until about 8pm, when officers returned him 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 said.
He disclosed that EFCC detained Omoile for 21 days, prompting him to file a fundamental rights enforcement suit at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
According to Offial, 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, EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), countered the allegations of Offial, who also confirmed that investigators cautioned Omoile in his presence and that Omoile signed the caution.
Justice Oshodi later adjourned the matter to January 16, 2026, for continuation of the trial-within-trial.
