Drama In Court: Judge Blocks EFCC’s Attempt To Introduce Fresh Evidence Against Emefiele

Justice Hamza Muazu delivered the ruling in response to a motion filed by Emefiele’s legal team, led by Mathew Burkaa (SAN). Emefiele is currently standing trial on alleged procurement fraud charges under case number FCT/HC/CR/577/2023, filed by the EFCC.

During the hearing, Justice Muazu opted to proceed directly to ruling on the defendant’s application, in which Emefiele opposed the EFCC’s attempt to introduce fresh evidence more than a year after the charges were initially filed.

The EFCC had submitted additional proof of evidence on October 15, 2024, seeking to introduce two new witnesses, Tommy John and Ifeanyi Omeke, whose extrajudicial statements were made in August 2024—one year after the initial charges were filed in August 2023.

In his ruling, Justice Muazu pointed out that the EFCC had already filed additional proof of evidence on February 12, 2024, to include the testimonies of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and Bamayi Haruna Mairiga. He also noted that the charges against Emefiele were originally filed on August 14, 2023, with the defendant entering his plea on November 16, 2023.

The judge criticized the EFCC’s approach, describing it as a “trial by ambush” and likening it to “fishing for evidence” after the trial had already commenced on November 28, 2023. He ruled that allowing further amendments at this stage would compromise Emefiele’s right to a fair hearing, as he had not been confronted with the new evidence during the investigation.

However, Justice Muazu declined to strike out the charges entirely, stating that both parties had already joined issues and the trial was nearing completion. He maintained that justice would best be served by concluding the trial based on the existing evidence and delivering a final judgment.