Justice Rahman Oshodi of a Lagos Special Offences Court, Ikeja, has fixed December 12, 2024, for the hearing of an application filed by embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

Emefiele is challenging the court’s jurisdiction to try him on charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Oshodi had initially scheduled the hearing of the application for after the trial. However, dissatisfied with this decision, Emefiele filed an appeal before the Appellate Court through his lead counsel, Mr. Olalekan Ojo (SAN).

The defendant contends that he cannot be tried in any State High Court in Nigeria for alleged abuses of office, as this raises significant constitutional and legal issues.

He also argued that counts one to four out of the 26 charges filed against him by the EFCC are unconstitutional, as they are not based on any existing laws in Nigeria.

His counsel prayed the court to strike out counts one to four of the charges on two grounds: that the court does not have jurisdiction to try the offence of abuse of office in relation to the position of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held by the defendant at the time of the alleged offences.

Additionally, the defendant contended that the actions attributed to him said to constitute arbitrary acts resulting in an abuse of office, are not recognized as offences under the law, as required by Section 36(12) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.

At the resumed trial, which was scheduled for the cross-examination of a seventh prosecution witness, the EFCC counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), informed the court that the Appellate Court had delivered a ruling on November 29, 2024, directing the judge to hear and determine the application before proceeding with the trial.

In response, Ojo (SAN) informed the court that they had received the ruling electronically and intended to file a notification regarding it. However, they were surprised to find the prosecution submitting a Certified True Copy of that ruling to the court from the bar.

Ojo subsequently applied for an adjournment to allow the defence team to move forward with their application.

Oyedepo objected to the request, emphasizing that all parties should comply with the directive of the Appellate Court since various processes have already been exchanged concerning the application.

Justice Oshodi acknowledged the processes filed by both parties and adjourned the hearing of the application till December 12, 2024.