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Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has admitted into evidence extra-judicial statements allegedly made by former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The court dismissed objections raised by the defence team yesterday while ruling on the admissibility of document; he admitted it and marked exhibits (Exh) K31.

In his ruling, the court held that the provisions of Section 4 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, relied upon by Emefiele’s counsel, did not justify the conduct of a trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of the statements.

Justice Oshodi agreed with the prosecution that the statements sought to be tendered were not confessional in nature and, therefore, did not require a separate trial to test their voluntariness.

The judge held that for a statement to qualify as confessional, it must contain an unequivocal admission of the alleged offences.

According to the court, none of the statements made by Emefiele contained any admission of the facts in issue. Consequently, the court dismissed the objections and admitted as exhibits the statements dated October 27, October 30, November 11, November 12 and November 13, 2023.

Following the ruling, the matter was adjourned to October 6, 7 and 8, and November 11, 12 and 13, 2026, for continuation of trial.

It would be recalled that Emefiele is standing trial alongside Henry Omoile on a 19-count charge bordering on abuse of office, receiving gratification, acceptance of gifts through agents, corruption and fraudulent property transactions involving about $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion.

Omoile is facing a three-count charge relating to alleged unlawful receipt of gifts connected with transactions involving the CBN. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.

At an earlier sitting, Emefiele’s lead counsel, Mr Olalekan Ojo (SAN), had urged the court to reject the statements, arguing that they were obtained involuntarily through alleged oppression and torture during his client’s detention by the Department of State Services (DSS) for over 157 days.

Ojo submitted that the statements were inadmissible under the Anti-Torture Act and relevant provisions of the Evidence Act, contending that once voluntariness is challenged, the prosecution bears the burden of proving that the statements were made freely.

He argued that the absence of a video recording of the interrogation undermined the credibility of the statements, describing them as “poisoned fruits.”

He further contended that the prosecution failed to provide independent evidence corroborating the alleged confessional statements and questioned the role of the legal practitioner said to have witnessed the interviews.

In response, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), maintained that a trial-within-trial was unnecessary as none of the statements amounted to a confession or contained any admission of wrongdoing.

Oyedepo argued that the Anti-Torture Act does not mandate a trial-within-trial in such circumstances and urged the court to dismiss the objections and proceed with the substantive trial.

The court, however, upheld the prosecution’s position and admitted the statements into evidence.

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Former Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume on Thursday, threw his weight to the order by the Minister of Defence, Ge. Christopher Musa (retd) to the military to shoot on sight any terrorists or bandits, saying sustained military pressure, not negotiations or concessions, remains the surest path to ending insecurity in Nigeria.

Fielding question from State House correspondents after meeting behind closed-doors with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Senator Ndume, who represents Borno South Senatorial District also kicked against reintegration of repentant terrorists in the society.

He also said those who aid criminal groups should be treated as accomplices.

Ndume, who was once the Chief Whip of the Senate, argued that recent military successes across the country demonstrate that insurgent groups are steadily losing ground under sustained offensives by the Armed Forces.

“If the tempo is kept, I’m sure this thing will come to an end,” he told journalists.

The ranking lawmaker cited the elimination of key terrorist leaders, the surrender of several commanders and improved security in parts of the North-East and South-East as evidence that the military strategy is yielding results.

He maintained that terrorists and bandits deserve no leniency.

“You don’t spare a bandit. You don’t spare a terrorist. Once you identify a terrorist, because if you don’t kill him, he will kill you,” Ndume said.

Recall that the Minister of Defence, Gen. Musa had recently told soldiers at the front line not to wait for any order when they confront the terrorists and bandits.

The Minister vowed that the government will neither negotiate with terrorists nor tolerate ransom payments, arguing that such concessions embolden criminal groups, enable them to regroup and prolong insecurity.

Although he refused to give details of his meeting with the President, the Borno South vocal senator said that his meeting with President Tinubu centred on security and the economy, describing both as Nigeria’s most urgent challenges.

He said the President demonstrated his commitment to restoring security by convening a meeting with the service chiefs before receiving him.

“I had an appointment for 3 pm, but I had to wait because the President was in a security meeting. As you can see, the service chiefs came in. That means the President is sitting up,” he said.

According to him, military operations have intensified in the North-West against bandits, while campaigns in the North-East have led to the neutralisation of insurgent leaders and the surrender of several fighters.

He also acknowledged improvements in the South-East, where he said separatist-related violence had declined significantly.

“The South-East issue is not as before, and that is one area where we need to commend the President, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Army and other security agencies for what they are doing,” he said.

Ndume also welcomed the decision by the 19 Northern governors to establish a regional security trust fund, describing it as a positive step towards strengthening collaboration between the Federal Government and the states.

“You don’t leave security entirely to the Federal Government. If the governors are contributing resources, they should work with existing security institutions. The more coordinated the effort, the stronger the response,” he said.

Beyond security, the senator urged the Tinubu administration to intensify efforts to cushion the economic hardship facing Nigerians through better coordination of interventions aimed at reducing the cost of living.

“We have all it takes. It is just that we need to coordinate our efforts. Once Nigerians see the efforts of the government, they will appreciate them,” he said.

Ndume also advised President Tinubu to engage Nigerians more directly through regular national addresses, arguing that effective communication would strengthen public confidence in government policies.

“I told Mr. President that he should speak directly to Nigerians. People expect their leader to tell them what is going on instead of leaving others to speak on his behalf. That is very important,” he said.

He said the President welcomed his suggestions and agreed that they should hold regular consultations on national issues, stressing that solving Nigeria’s multifaceted challenges require contributions from a broad range of stakeholders.

“A country like Nigeria must have problems, and the President alone cannot solve all the problems. He needs people that can share ideas with him because two heads are better than one,” Ndume said.

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As the August 15 governorship poll in Osun State draws closer, the Independent National Electoral Commission has disclosed that 2,333,233 voters are registered to vote.

This was disclosed at the presentation of electronic voter registers to political parties by the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola at the commission’s office in Osogbo on Thursday.

She said the exercise was provided for under the Electoral Act to ensure transparency, inclusiveness, and credibility in the electoral process.

Her words: “The total number of voters registered for the governorship election in the State stands at 2,339,233.” The statistics on the voters are presented in the document.

“The Commission is guided in this responsibility by Section 20 of the Electoral Act, 2026 (As Amended ), which mandates INEC to compile, maintain, update, and make available the Register of Voters. In addition, Section 19 of the Electoral Act, 2026 provides that copies of the Register of Voters shall be made available to political parties in both printed and electronic formats not later than thirty (30) days before a general election and fourteen (14) days before an off-cycle governorship election. This statutory provision underscores the Commission’s commitment to openness and accountability in election administration.

“The Electronic Register of Voters being presented today will enable political parties to review the list of eligible voters across the State ahead of the election. It provides an opportunity for parties to adequately plan their campaigns, engage with the electorate in a lawful and meaningful manner, and contribute to a more transparent and inclusive electoral process”.

The document presented showed Osogbo Local Government with the highest number of registered voters, at 167,704, followed by Ife-East Local Government with 128,515 and Olorunda Local Government with 123,063.

Ife-Central has 122,454 voters; Iwo has 106,814 voters; Ede-North is fifth with 96,644 voters; Irewole and Ifelodun local governments have 96,528 and 94,870, respectively; Ilesa-East and Ilesa-West follow with 89,491 and 86,699 voters; Oriade local government has 84,238, while Odo-Otin and Boripe local governments have 82,574 and 81,067, respectively.

The local governments with the three lowest registered voters are Ifedayo with 28,361, Boluwaduro with 29,797, and Atakumosa-West with 44,076.