The Lagos State Special Offences Court, on Wednesday, dismissed an application filed by former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the $4.5bn and N2.8bn fraud charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Justice Rahman Oshodi ruled that the court has jurisdiction to try Emefiele and Henry Omoile.
However, the judge dismissed four of the EFCC’s 26 allegations against the defendants due to lack of jurisdiction.
Justice Oshodi explained: “Allocation of foreign exchange without reason is not defined as an offence under any written law. The objection to counts one to four succeeds and is hereby struck out.
“The objection challenging the court’s territorial jurisdiction over counts eight to 26 fails and is hereby dismissed.
“The prosecution has established sufficient territorial nexus in this case.”
The judge subsequently adjourned the case for trial continuation on February 24, 2025.
The EFCC had arraigned the former CBN boss on 26 charges, bordering on abuse of office and illegal allocation of $4.5bn and N2.8bn.
At the last adjourned date on December 12, 2024, Emefiele’s counsel, Mr. Olalekan Ojo (SAN), stated that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case in Lagos.
Ojo argued that the alleged offences, including abuse of office, fell outside the territorial reach of the Lagos Special Offences Court.
He also contended that the charges violated Section 36(12) of the Nigerian constitution, asserting that the alleged offences were not legally recognised under Nigerian law.
Furthermore, Ojo stated that because the Lagos State House of Assembly lacks legislative authority over matters on the Exclusive Legislative List, Section 73 of the Lagos State Criminal Law (2011), under which counts one through four were filed, cannot be applied extraterritorially to Emefiele’s alleged abuse of office.
Ojo stated that a court’s territorial jurisdiction is confined to the geographical area in which its authority can be exercised, and he requested the court to dismiss counts one through four of the EFCC’s amended charges filed on April 4, 2024.
In response, EFCC counsel Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) claimed that the court had the authority to hear the issue.
Oyedepo claimed that the alleged offences were economic and financial in nature, falling under the EFCC’s authority.
He also insisted that considerable evidence supported Lagos as the proper site for the trial.
According to Oyedepo, the charges obviously fell within the court’s jurisdiction because the acts were committed within its territorial scope.
He stated that evidence and witness testimony led to Lagos as the appropriate venue for the trial and that Emefiele’s legal team’s objections lacked factual or empirical foundation.
Following the arguments, Justice Oshodi initially deferred the matter until January 7, 2025, to rule on the application challenging the court’s jurisdiction.
However, the ruling was not completed on time; therefore, the hearing was rescheduled for Wednesday, January 8, 2025.
The case has been rescheduled for February 24 and 26, 2025, for further trial.
