A socio-cultural group, Arewa Youth Group, has asserted that the admission by a prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the trial of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, that he demanded and received bribes from contractors, indicates that Emefiele is being persecuted and witch-hunted.
This revelation came during a court session where the witness, a retired Director in the IT Department of CBN, Mr. John Ayoh, testified.
During cross-examination by Emefiele’s lawyer, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, SAN, Ayoh admitted that he demanded and received a bribe from a contractor, but he was unable to connect Emefiele to the bribery activities. Emefiele, who faces a 23-count charge of abuse of office and fraud totaling $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion, has pleaded not guilty and is currently out on bail to prepare his defense.
Reacting to the court proceedings, the leader of the Arewa Youth Group, Comrade Isa Galadima, said that the admission by the prosecution witness confirms their earlier claims that Emefiele is being unfairly targeted. He called for the discontinuation of the case and the immediate release of Emefiele.
“The admission by the prosecution witness for the EFCC in the trial of Godwin Emefiele that he demanded and received bribes from contractors is evidence that Emefiele is being persecuted and witch-hunted,” Galadima said. “We’ve been saying this for months, and this admission strengthens our call for the case to be discontinued. Emefiele is innocent, and this is clearly a political witch-hunt.”
The group appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and direct the security agencies to drop the charges against Emefiele. Galadima emphasized that the ongoing trial is politically motivated and has no merit, stating that it could be one of the greatest political witch-hunts in Nigeria’s history.
“The relentless persecution, faceless allegations, and now this admission by the prosecution witness all point to one thing: this is a political witch-hunt,” he said. “We urge President Tinubu to take action and stop this baseless case. It’s time to free an innocent man and end this senseless persecution.”
