A prosecution witness, Alvan Gurumnaan, on Tuesday told the Lagos Special Offences Court in Ikeja that Henry Omoile, the co-defendant in the alleged $4.5 billion fraud case involving former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele, voluntarily made his statements to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Gurumnaan, an EFCC operative, testified before Justice Rahman Oshodi during a trial-within-trial ordered to determine whether Omoile’s statements were made under duress, as he had claimed through his legal team. Both Emefiele and Omoile have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Emefiele faces a 19-count charge bordering on gratification and corrupt demands during his tenure as CBN governor, while Omoile faces three counts of unlawful acceptance of gifts as an agent.
At the previous sitting on October 9, 2025, the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), had attempted to tender Omoile’s extra-judicial statements as evidence. However, defence counsel Kotoye Adeyinka (SAN) objected, insisting that the statements were not voluntary — prompting the court to order the current trial-within-trial.
Taking the stand on December 2, 2025, Gurumnaan maintained that EFCC personnel are “trained professionals” who do not extract statements through intimidation or violence.
“The second defendant did not make any statement under duress. Our officers do not force statements through violence,” he said.
“It is the responsibility of the defendant to prove duress where such an allegation is made.”
The witness described the environment in which Omoile gave his statements — the EFCC conference room on the first floor of Block A at the Lagos Zonal Directorate in Ikoyi — as “open and spacious,” adding that it was impossible for anyone to have been coerced.
He added that Omoile had arrived at the EFCC office on February 26, 2024, accompanied by the acting Managing Director of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and his lawyer, E.N. Offiong.
“EFCC operatives are trained to take statements without threat or duress. The statements were taken openly. There is no way we could have done that under threat,” Gurumnaan insisted.
Four statements — three taken on February 26, 2024, and one on February 27, 2024 — were admitted into evidence as Exhibits 1–4.
Gurumnaan also confirmed that Omoile was in EFCC custody at the time the statements were made, but stressed that proper procedure was followed. He testified that Azeez Ajigbotosho, another EFCC officer, administered the cautionary words before the statements were taken, and that Omoile signed each one.
“The statements were signed by the second defendant. He wrote, ‘I am making this statement in the presence of my lawyer, Offiong.’”
He further tendered the EFCC visitors’ register to support his claim that Offiong was present on both days.
Under cross-examination by defence lawyers Olalekan Ojo (SAN) and Adeyinka, Gurumnaan conceded that no video recording of the statement-taking session existed.
“Certain circumstances sometimes make video recordings impossible,” he explained.
The case has been adjourned to January 15 and 16, 2026, for continuation of the trial-within-trial.
