A Lagos Special Offences Court, Ikeja, has reserved ruling till today (Thursday), on admissibility of documents sought to be admitted by court in the alleged $4.5bn ongoing fraud trial of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
At the resumption of the trial on Wednesday, prosecution and defence argued over legitimate or otherwise of tendering a bunch of documents, through a Witness brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,EFCC.
Emefiele, is standing trial alongside a co-defendant, Mr. Henry Omoile, on a 19-count charge bordering on alleged fraud and abuse of office.
Prosecuting counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, had sought to tender the documents through one Mr. Alvan Gurumnaan, an EFCC operative marked as PW8.
The witness had earlier testified that the documents are findings of investigations conducted by his team, revealing multiple cash deliveries allegedly made to Emefiele and his associates.
Emefiele lawyer, Mr Olalekan Ojo, SAN, objected to the admissibility of the documents sought to be rendered as Exhibit, adding that it contains a change which does not form part of the computer printout the Witness has mention.
The documents, he claimed, does not conform to the provision of Section 84 of the Evidence Act and so must be rejected.
He argued that the prosecution failed to comply strictly to the rule of the court that makes authentication a necessary precedent for computer prints-out documents to be tendered for Exhibit.
Mr Oyedepo prayed the court to hold that the documents are admissible in law, stressing they are public documents without certification, according to Supreme Court judgment in another matter.
Justice Rahman Oshodi advised the parties to agree on modalities to take on the adjourned forensic examination of Phone and WhatsApp messages alleged.
