Nnamdi Offial, a defense witness, told the Special Offences Court in Ikeja yesterday that officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission tried to force his client, Henry Omoile, to accuse former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.
Offial, who is Omoile’s lawyer in the ongoing $4.5 billion and N2.8 million fraud trial of Emefiele, made the claim while testifying in a trial-within-a-trial ordered by Justice Rahman Oshodi to find out if Omoile’s statement to the EFCC was made freely, according to The PUNCH.
He said that EFCC detectives tried to get Omoile to provide them evidence against Emefiele by promising him bail and the chance not to be charged.
Emefiele and Omoile are being charged with collecting bribes, getting gifts through agents, corruption, and stealing property.
The EFCC also said they broke the illicit Practices Act 2000 by giving illicit benefits to friends. Both men have said they are not guilty.
At the resumed hearing yesterday, Offial said that the leader of the EFCC questioning team told Omoile that if he cooperated, he would get a lighter sentence.
He also said that the investigators questioned Omoile in a way that was too severe, not letting him write answers that didn’t match what they wanted to hear.
“Several times, the second defendant was asked questions and answered them, but he wasn’t allowed to write them down because the answers didn’t match what the interrogators wanted him to say. Offial said, “I said no to this many times.”
He said that following the February 26, 2024, session, authorities told him they would keep Omoile in jail.
The next day, he saw his client being questioned without him and questioned the process.
Offial added that an officer named David challenged him about his intervention, which led to a fight that ended with him being removed out of the building.
“I told the team leader about what happened, and he told me to stay in the waiting area,” he stated.
He also said that he wouldn’t be able to get to Omoile again until about 8 p.m., when officials took him back to the detention center.
“Later, I heard that he had refused to help them and that they were not going to let him go. “That was when I asked the EFCC zonal head for bail,” Offial stated.
He said that the EFCC held Omoile for 21 days, which led him to file a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Lagos to protect his basic rights.
Offial says that Justice Muslim Hamza gave Omoile bail but told him to stay at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre till the bail requirements were met.
During cross-examination, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), the EFCC prosecutor, got the witness to admit a number of things.
Offial acknowledged that detectives warned Omoile in front of him and that Omoile signed the warning.
He also said that he was involved in taking the statement and knew that anything written could be used against his client in court.
Offial said he didn’t disclose the suspected wrongdoing or register a complaint against the EFCC when prompted.
He further admitted that the judge in the basic rights case did not charge the EFCC with wrongdoing and that his client was not bothered while he was there.
Justice Oshodi put off the case to today, Friday, January 16, 2026, so that the trial-within-a-trial may continue.
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