The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has announced that the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has admitted additional evidence in the ongoing trial of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, over an alleged $4.5bn fraud.

In a statement released on Thursday, the EFCC said Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court made the ruling during proceedings on October 9, 2025.

“Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on October 9, 2025, admitted more evidence against a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, in an alleged $4.5bn fraud,” the commission said.

The former CBN governor is facing a 19-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, accusing him of soliciting and receiving illegal gratifications.

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His co-defendant, Henry Omoile, faces a separate three-count charge bordering on unlawful acceptance of gifts by agents.

The statement added that the trial judge had adjourned the case till December 2 and 3, 2025, for a mini-trial.

“The case was adjourned till December 2 and 3, 2025, for mini-trial,” the EFCC noted.

Thursday’s ruling marks another step in the ongoing prosecution of Emefiele, who was first arraigned in 2023 following investigations into alleged abuse of office and large-scale financial impropriety during his tenure.

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Emefiele, who was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014 and retained by President Muhammadu Buhari, came under intense scrutiny following controversial monetary policies during his tenure, particularly the 2023 naira redesign and cash withdrawal limits, which sparked widespread public criticism and economic disruption.

He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, insisting that all actions taken under his leadership at the apex bank were in line with the law and national interest.

In earlier proceedings, the anti-graft agency tendered several documents and digital evidence, including WhatsApp chat records retrieved from a mobile phone allegedly linked to Emefiele.

The defence team, however, has consistently challenged the admissibility of some of the evidence, arguing that the EFCC did not follow due process in obtaining or certifying them.

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The forensic analysis of one of the devices, reportedly an iPhone, has also been a major point of contention, with both parties disagreeing over the methodology and level of access granted to experts.

The EFCC had previously alleged that part of the funds in question; running into billions of naira and foreign currencies, were traced to bank accounts and assets connected to Emefiele.

In 2024, a Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the interim forfeiture of over $4.7m, ₦830m, and several properties allegedly linked to him, while another court later granted the final forfeiture of assets valued at more than ₦12bn.

Emefiele, who served as CBN governor between 2014 and 2023, has denied all allegations, maintaining that his actions were in line with the law and national interest.

The EFCC first arraigned him in December 2023, after his suspension and arrest by the Department of State Services. He was later re-arraigned on multiple amended charges involving alleged fraud, abuse of office, and unlawful receipt of gratification.
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The Council of State on Thursday approved the exercise of the presidential prerogative of mercy for 175 persons across various categories.

The decision followed a presentation by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who conveyed President Bola Tinubu’s recommendations based on the report of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, at Thursday’s Council of State meeting held at the State House, Abuja.

Although the full names of the beneficiaries are yet to be published, our correspondent gathered that pardons were granted to one of Nigeria’s founding fathers, Herbert Macaulay and former FCT minister in the Babangida regime, Maj-Gen. Mamman Vatsa (retd).

Members of the Ogoni Nine and Ogoni Four are also beneficiaries.

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“Herbert Macaulay and Vatsa are among the two major ones on that list,” a source who attended the meeting told our correspondent.

Macaulay, often called the “father of Nigerian nationalism,” was twice convicted by the colonial authorities in Lagos.

In 1913, while in private practice as a surveyor, he was tried for misappropriating funds from an estate he administered and sentenced to prison; historians have long debated the fairness of that prosecution.

In 1928, after his Lagos Daily News published incendiary claims during the Eleko (Oba of Lagos) agitation, he was convicted of sedition in the so-called “Gunpowder Plot” case and jailed for six months with hard labour.

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Vatsa, a poet, former FCT minister and member of the Supreme Military Council, was executed by firing squad on March 5, 1986, after a secret military tribunal convicted him of treason over an alleged coup against then military ruler Ibrahim Babangida, his childhood friend.

The case has remained controversial for decades, with periodic calls for a posthumous pardon.

Out of the 175 beneficiaries, 82 inmates were granted a full presidential pardon, 65 had their sentences reduced, while seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.

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Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna state explained, “82 of the inmates were granted full pardon, 65 had their sentences reduced, while seven death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.

“The decision underscores the President’s commitment to justice and correctional reform.”

The meeting, chaired by President Tinubu, also ratified key appointments, including Dr. Aminu Yusuf from Niger State as Chairman of the National Population Commission and Tonge Bularafa as Federal Commissioner representing Yobe State in the Commission. Both appointments received unanimous approval.

The Senate on Thursday directed the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, Accountant-General of the Federation, Samsudeen Ogunjimi and Director-General of Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, to submit a comprehensive performance report on the 2024 budget within two weeks.

Analysts have expressed concerns that the move could delay President Bola Tinubu’s presentation of the 2026 fiscal proposal to the National Assembly.

The upper chamber, through its Committee on Finance, warned that the report must also capture projections for the capital component of the 2025 budget before consideration of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) for 2026–2029 can proceed.

The order came from the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Mohammed Sani Musa (Niger East), after a one-and-a-half-hour closed-door meeting with the three top officials.

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The MTEF/FSP is a critical fiscal planning document that provides the foundation for Nigeria’s annual budget.

It outlines the Federal Government’s macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, spending priorities, and debt management strategies over three years.

Under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the document must be approved by the National Assembly before the President can present the next budget.

But Musa insisted the Senate’s consideration of the MTEF/FSP for 2026–2029 would only follow after the submission of the requested documents on October 23.

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“The expectations we are having are for the ministry to, as a matter of urgency, bring the MTEF for 2026 to 2029. The minister has briefed us, and we have collectively agreed that we are making progress, but we need to make more progress,” Musa told journalists after the session.

“We have heard from the Accountant-General and the Director-General of Budget on where we are with the budgets — the payments so far released, warrants signed, as well as the 2025 authority to incur expenditure for agencies to be able to execute their capital projects.

“We have all agreed that we want documented evidence of the performance of 2024 and our expectations for the 2025 budget before we start talking about the MTEF for 2026. The Honourable Minister of Finance has agreed to oblige us with that progress report, and we will reconvene on October 23,” he added.

Before the meeting went behind closed doors, committee members were confronted with conflicting accounts of budget performance from the Federal Government’s economic team.

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While Finance Minister Wale Edun claimed the implementation of the capital components of the 2024 and 2025 budgets was recording “high performance,” the Director-General of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu, painted a more sobering picture.

According to Yakubu, the assumptions underpinning both fiscal years’ budgets were largely unmet due to global and domestic shocks.

“We have indeed had a turbulent year — one in which most of the assumptions underpinning the 2024 and 2025 budgets turned out differently from projections. Oil revenue, assumed at $75 per barrel, fell short by between $10 and $15 due to global price fluctuations.

“Inflation also rose beyond projections, affecting borrowing costs and debt service performance, which significantly exceeded targets. Furthermore, the unforeseen fiscal implications of the Petroleum Industry Act (2022) have compounded our challenges.

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“Under the Act, 30 per cent of gross oil revenue and 30 per cent of oil and gas profits are retained for upstream operations, while the Federal Government also bears the NNPC’s operating costs.

“This has reduced the Federation Account allocation by nearly 70 per cent of what used to accrue. In addition, crude oil output has been lower than projected in the MTEF approved by the National Assembly,” he said.

The Senate’s insistence on a detailed performance evaluation comes amid rising fiscal pressures, declining oil revenue, and increasing debt service costs — all of which could complicate the formulation of the 2026–2029 economic framework.