Court Grants Emefiele’s Request For Forensic Analysis Of WhatsApp Chats, iPhone 12 In ₦2.8bn, $4.5bn Fraud Trial

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, has granted the application of embattled former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to engage forensic experts to examine WhatsApp conversations and a mobile device marked “iPhone 12” that were tendered as evidence in his ongoing trial.

Emefiele, alongside his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, is facing a 19-count charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged money laundering and fraud totaling $4.5 billion and ₦2.8 billion.

Delivering the ruling on Tuesday, Justice Oshodi held that the defence was entitled to conduct an independent forensic review, provided safeguards were put in place to maintain the integrity of the evidence.

The judge ordered that the inspection must be carried out in the presence of representatives of all parties, with each party permitted no more than one lawyer and one forensic expert. He further directed that the process be supervised by a court representative and conducted between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on September 24 and 26, 2025.

Justice Oshodi also ruled that the chain of custody of Exhibit E (the iPhone 12) must be preserved, stressing that the exhibit would remain in the court’s custody at all times.

At the previous sitting, Emefiele’s lead counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, had urged the court to allow an independent forensic analysis of the device and the extracted WhatsApp messages presented as exhibits. “The defence is seeking the leave of the court to call a forensic expert to examine both the mobile device and printed conversations allegedly linked to the defendants,” he said.

However, EFCC counsel C. C. Okezie opposed the request, arguing that exhibits admitted during trial were under the custody of the court and should remain in their original form until conclusion of the matter.

At Tuesday’s proceedings, Okezie again appeared for the EFCC, while Kunle Gbolahan held the brief of Ojo for the first defendant, and Kazeem Gbadamosi, SAN, represented the second defendant.

The matter was adjourned until October 7, 2025, for continuation of trial.