A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has told a Lagos Special Offences Court how the former apex bank chief allegedly used associates to acquire several properties across the country.
Alvan Gurumnaan, the eighth prosecution witness and leader of the investigative team, gave the account on Thursday, November 12, 2026, while testifying before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja.
Emefiele is standing trial alongside his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, over a 19-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 1. The charges border on alleged gratification and corrupt demands during Emefiele’s tenure as CBN governor.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel and Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Gurumnaan said investigators discovered that Emefiele allegedly deployed associates to acquire properties whose combined value was beyond what his legitimate earnings could reasonably support.
The witness said the investigation followed intelligence received by the special operations team under his leadership, after which Emefiele’s statement was recorded.
Among the properties listed by Gurumnaan were two adjoining duplexes in Lekki Phase 1 and two mansions on Queens Drive, Ikoyi, Lagos.
He also mentioned an unfinished factory in Agbor, Delta State; a block of eight flats on Adekunle Lawal Street, Ikoyi; and a warehouse in Ogun State, where investigators reportedly recovered containers said to be worth hundreds of billions of naira.
Other assets identified by the witness included two-storey buildings containing 94 luxury flats under construction, an industrial park and an estate in Abuja comprising more than 700 duplexes under construction.
Gurumnaan told the court that the properties had been forfeited to the Federal Government following court judgments.
He said: “My Lord, several courts have given judgments in favour of the EFCC, forfeiting assets and properties belonging to Emefiele. He accepted and came to court that the properties belong to him.
“We also discovered that the first defendant was building a factory in his hometown in Agbor, Delta State, which has also been forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“There is also a property, My Lord, on Adekunle Lawal Street in Ikoyi, Lagos, which the first defendant purchased. It had belonged to the Nigerian Printing and Minting Company, where he served as Chairman of the Board, and he sold the property to himself.
“The property, a block of eight flats in Ikoyi, has also been forfeited to the government. During our investigation, another warehouse belonging to the first defendant was recovered in Ogun State, on the outskirts of Lagos.”
However, Emefiele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), asked the court to disregard the witness’s evidence concerning the factory in Agbor and the property on Adekunle Lawal Street, arguing that the assets were not listed in the charges against his client.
In response, Oyedepo, who appeared with B. Bilkisu, C. C. Okezie and Z. B. Atiku, tendered a document containing a Supreme Court judgment as an exhibit.
Justice Oshodi adjourned the case until Friday, November 13, 2026, for a ruling on the admissibility of the document and continuation of the trial.
