By Georgina George
A prosecution witness in the ongoing $4.5 billion fraud trial involving former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has told a Lagos court how the former apex bank chief allegedly used his associates to acquire several properties through questionable means across the country while in office.
The witness, Alvan Gurumnaan, the eighth prosecution witness (PW8) and team leader of the investigators, gave the account on Thursday, November 12, 2026, before the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos State.
Emefiele is being prosecuted alongside his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 1, on a 19-count charge bordering on receiving gratification and making corrupt demands while serving as CBN Governor.
While giving his evidence-in-chief under examination by prosecution counsel and Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Gurumnaan disclosed that Emefiele’s statement was recorded following intelligence received by the special operations team he led.
He alleged that investigations uncovered several properties linked to the former CBN governor, which were acquired through associates and spread across Lagos and other parts of the country.
The properties listed by the witness included twin duplexes in Lekki Phase 1, two mansions on Queens Drive, Ikoyi, an uncompleted factory in Agbor, Delta State, a printing and minting company on Adekunle Lawal Street, Ikoyi, and a warehouse in Ogun State containing containers valued at hundreds of billions of naira.
Others included buildings comprising 94 luxury flats under construction, an industrial park and an estate in Abuja with over 700 duplexes under construction.
Gurumnaan told the court that the properties had been forfeited to the Federal Government following court judgments.
He further alleged that Emefiele was building a factory in his hometown of Agbor, Delta State, which had also been forfeited to the government.
The witness also accused the former CBN governor of purchasing a property on Adekunle Lawal Street, Ikoyi, which previously belonged to the Nigerian Printing and Minting Company, where he served as chairman of the board, before allegedly selling it to himself.
However, counsel to the first defendant, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), urged the court to disregard the evidence concerning the properties in Agbor and Adekunle Lawal Street, arguing that they were not part of the charges against his client.
Prosecution counsel, Oyedepo, who appeared alongside B. Bilkisu C. C. Okezie and Z. B. Atiku, also tendered a document containing a Supreme Court judgment as an exhibit.
