Emefiele: Court ordered examination of WhatsApp messages deadlocked

By Akin Kuponiyi

An Ikeja Special Offences Court was told on Tuesday that its order on the examination of the phone and WhatsApp conversations in the on going trial of former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele met a brick wall as parties failed to agree on modalities for the examination.

Justice Oshodi had ruled that the mobile device, marked “iPhone 2”, and its WhatsApp contents tendered by EFCC as evidence against Emefiele should be examined scientifically.

This was as a result of Emefiele’s lawyer’s application on the necessity of subjecting the phone device to forensic examination in the presence of experts on the sides of the prosecution and defence, to serve the interest of justice.

But at the resumed trial of the case on Tuesday, Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, told Justice Rahman Oshodi that on two occasions, representatives of the Economic and Finance Crimes Commission, EFCC, as the prosecution, successfully blocked execution of the court’s order to examine the phone.

Ojo told the court that on the 24th and 25th September, 2025 the dates directed by the court for the forensic examination of the device, although representatives of both parties were present, together with the Registrar of the court, nothing could be done as EFCC’s representatives failed to present the phone to the examination team.

“The first brick walls we faced was that the EFCC said the device cannot be exposed to the entire team. On 25th September, the Registrar was also present and clarified that the order directed that the WhatsApp messages can be examined. He said when the Apple expert demanded phone device, it was not produced.

“The EFCC met us with categorical NO. The Registrar cannot take decision. The same thing happened on the 25th, equally wasted. There must be unfettered assess for the experts to do their job. We were blocked. The court should give directive to assess the phone and WhatsApp”, Ojo SAN submitted.

However, the prosecutor, Barrister Rotimi Oyedepo SAN submitted that the objection of the prosecution was based on the fact that the forensic expert presented by the defence team was not credible and has no fixed address.

In addition he said the forensic expert was trying to link the device to internet and that will disrupt the whole system of the device.

Justice Oshodi has adjourned till Wednesday 8 October for continuation of the trial.