Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos Special Offences Court has set January 7, 2025, to deliver his ruling on an application filed by Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), seeking to challenge the court’s jurisdiction over the charges brought against him.
Emefiele is facing a 26-count charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing him of misusing his office in a manner that caused a loss of $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion.
Alongside him in the trial is Henry Omoile, his co-defendant, who faces related charges, including the unlawful acceptance of gifts.
At the latest court session, Emefiele’s lead counsel, Olalekan Ojo SAN, contended that the Lagos Special Offences Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. Ojo argued that the alleged offences, which include abuse of office, were not committed within the territorial jurisdiction of the Lagos court, and thus it could not entertain the matter.
He stressed that the charges, under the Lagos State Criminal Law of 2011, violated Section 36(12) of the Nigerian Constitution, which protects against trial for actions that were not recognized as offences at the time they occurred.
Ojo further cited that the Lagos State House of Assembly does not have the legislative authority to enact laws pertaining to matters on the Exclusive Legislative List, including those related to the abuse of office charges under Counts 1 to 4 of the charges.
As such, he argued that Section 73 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011 could not apply extraterritorially to any alleged misuse of office committed outside the jurisdiction of Lagos State.
Arguing that a court’s territorial jurisdiction is limited to a specific geographic area, Ojo urged the court to strike out Counts 1 to 4 from the 18 amended charges filed against Emefiele on April 4, 2024, on the grounds that the alleged offences occurred outside the court’s jurisdiction.
In response, Rotimi Oyedepo SAN, counsel for the EFCC, argued vehemently that the court had proper jurisdiction to hear the case. Oyedepo maintained that the charges were economic and financial in nature, falling under the EFCC’s purview. He stated that there was substantial evidence supporting Lagos as the appropriate venue for the trial.
According to Oyedepo, the subject matter of the charges clearly fell within the court’s jurisdiction, as the alleged offences were committed within the territorial scope of the court’s authority.
Oyedepo further emphasized that witness testimonies and other evidence pointed to Lagos as the correct venue for the trial, and the defense’s claims lacked sufficient factual support to challenge the court’s jurisdiction.
After hearing arguments from both the defense and the prosecution, Justice Oshodi adjourned the matter and fixed the ruling for January 7, 2025.
