Justice Maryanne Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Monday admitted newspaper publications tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, over the alleged unlawful redesign of the naira.
During proceedings, the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, while leading the eighth prosecution witness, Jegede Oluwasegun, presented certified copies of publications from The Punch, ThisDay, Vanguard, Daily Sun and The Nation newspapers.
The documents reportedly contained reports relating to the alleged unlawful naira redesign, alongside payment receipts for the purchase of the newspapers.
Oyedepo told the court that the witness and documents were presented in compliance with a motion on notice filed by the defence on March 31, 2026, requesting the prosecution to produce all press releases and newspaper publications connected to the alleged unlawful act.
The documents were tendered and admitted in evidence without objection from the defence team.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Olalekun Ojo, the witness stated that his responsibilities at the National Library were limited to attending to readers’ information requests and certifying newspaper documents.
He added that he was neither the author of the newspaper publications nor in a position to speak on the content of the reports, explaining that his role was strictly to certify newspaper records.
Emefiele is facing a four-count charge filed by the EFCC bordering on the alleged unlawful printing of redesigned naira notes.
