Subpoenas Issued, Patience Exhausted: Court Orders Jim Obazee and CP Okpoziakpo to Testify Today in Emefiele’s $6.23 Million Fraud Trial
Summary
Justice Hamza Muazu of the FCT High Court in Abuja has issued formal subpoenas compelling Jim Obazee former Executive Secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) and President Tinubu’s special investigator into CBN activities and Commissioner of Police Eloho Okpoziakpo to appear in court today, Tuesday April 28, 2026, as prosecution witnesses in the ongoing criminal trial of former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele. The subpoenas, dated April 27, 2026, follow a pattern of repeated adjournments and prosecution failures to produce its remaining witnesses, with the court directing both men to testify on newspaper publications relating to the controversial Naira redesign policy. The development comes amid reports that the prosecution has been struggling to secure Obazee’s attendance despite the fact that he reportedly remains willing to testify and as the defence renews its push to foreclose the prosecution’s case entirely.
The trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele has entered its most consequential procedural phase yet, with a Federal Capital Territory High Court judge issuing formal subpoenas compelling two of the prosecution’s most anticipated witnesses to appear in the dock today a move that signals the court’s patience with prosecutorial delays has reached its limit.
Justice Hamza Muazu of the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, issued subpoenas dated April 27, 2026, ordering Jim Obazee former Executive Secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and Commissioner of Police Eloho Okpoziakpo to appear before him on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, as prosecution witnesses in the ongoing criminal trial of Emefiele. The court directed both men to appear “at the hour of 9 o’clock in the forenoon and so soon thereafter from day to day until the above case is tried to tender newspaper publication relating to Naira redesign.”
Justice Muazu stated that both witnesses had been involved in investigating Emefiele for the offences for which he is currently standing trial, and that they should appear before the court to provide explanations on newspaper publications relating to the redesign of the Naira one of the most controversial policy decisions of Emefiele’s tenure as CBN Governor and a subject that has generated significant public and legal attention since the policy’s tumultuous rollout in late 2022 and early 2023.
Who Is Jim Obazee and Why Does His Testimony Matter?
The case originates from a July 2023 appointment by President Bola Tinubu, who tasked Obazee, former head of the Financial Reporting Council, with investigating alleged financial irregularities within the CBN and related government entities. His preliminary report, submitted in December 2023, highlighted the disappearance of $6.23 million and recommended the prosecution of several individuals.
In that sense, Obazee is not merely a witness in this trial he is, in a very real sense, the architect of the case. His investigation into the apex bank is widely regarded as the foundation of the allegations against Emefiele. His report is what gave the EFCC the roadmap to bring the 20 counts charge that Emefiele is now contesting. His absence from the witness stand across months of proceedings has therefore not been a peripheral concern it has been the trial’s most consequential unresolved question.
Beyond the central allegation of the $6.23 million, Obazee’s findings reportedly uncovered a broader pattern of financial misconduct, including unauthorised currency issuance, controversial “ways and means” financing, disputed COVID-19 expenditures, and the alleged diversion of over ₦17 billion through multiple financial institutions. If Obazee takes the stand and testifies fully on the scope of his investigation, Tuesday’s proceedings could be among the most consequential hearings in the entire trial.
A Prosecution Under Pressure
Sources familiar with the matter had suggested the prosecution might inform the court that Obazee is unavailable to testify a development that would have triggered yet another request for adjournment. However, it was gathered that EFCC officials had been in contact with Obazee, who is reportedly willing to testify if formally approached through the appropriate channels. The subpoena issued by Justice Muazu removes any remaining ambiguity Obazee and Okpoziakpo are now legally compelled to appear, regardless of the informal communications that preceded Monday’s court session.
Legal observers noted that the court had previously expressed concern over repeated delays, having already granted several adjournments beyond the statutory guideline. At the last sitting on March 17, Justice Muazu directed the EFCC to present its principal witness on the next adjourned date, warning of possible consequences. That warning went unheeded the EFCC returned on April 27 without its key witnesses in tow, presenting instead the 13th prosecution witness, EFCC investigator Chinedu Eneanya, whose testimony corroborated earlier accounts but did not satisfy the court’s directive to produce the prosecution’s final witnesses.
At the resumed hearing on Monday, when the court asked the prosecution how many more witnesses it intended to call, counsel confirmed two more Jim Obazee and CP Eloho Okpoziakpo. The court then directed the prosecution to produce all remaining witnesses between Monday and Tuesday.
The Defence Sharpens Its Blade
Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burkaa SAN, made an application for the foreclosure of the prosecution’s case after prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo SAN told the court he was not sure of bringing his two witnesses on Tuesday. Oyedepo informed the court that the prosecution had yet to obtain the subpoena from the court, and that the witnesses lived outside the court’s jurisdiction.
The defence’s foreclosure application now reserved for consideration at the stage of final addresses carries real legal weight given the procedural history of this case. Having already granted eight adjournments beyond the statutory allowance of five there is growing pressure on the presiding judge to take a firm stance. Legal observers note that continued failure by the prosecution to present its key witness could compel the court to vacate the case for lack of diligent prosecution.
The defence’s pointed observation that “it seems they are ridiculing the court” captured a frustration that Justice Muazu appears to have taken seriously. The subpoenas issued on April 27 represent the court’s firmest procedural response yet to the prosecution’s witness difficulties, converting what had been a matter of informal expectation into a legally enforceable court order.
Failure to comply with a subpoena is itself a contemptible breach which means that Obazee and Okpoziakpo now face personal legal consequences if they do not appear today.
The Naira Redesign Thread
The specific subject matter on which Justice Muazu has ordered both witnesses to testify newspaper publications relating to the Naira redesign adds a particularly politically charged dimension to today’s proceedings. The Naira redesign policy, which Emefiele announced in October 2022 and implemented through early 2023, was one of the most disruptive monetary policy interventions in Nigeria’s recent history. The prosecution’s strategy has not been entirely consistent, with earlier plans to rely on the police commissioner as a central witness reportedly abandoned over concerns that it might weaken the case redirecting focus to Obazee, whose investigation is widely regarded as the foundation of the allegations.
The redesign crisis caused severe cash shortages, widespread public suffering, and significant political controversy ahead of the 2023 general elections. Its intersection with the $6.23 million election observers’ funds at the heart of this trial money allegedly released from the CBN in February 2023 at the height of the redesign crisis gives today’s expected testimony a contextual resonance that goes beyond the specific charges on the charge sheet.
The EFCC is prosecuting Emefiele on an amended 20 counts charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, forgery, abuse of office, and conspiracy to obtain by false pretence. Emefiele has denied all charges.
Analysis
The issuance of subpoenas by Justice Hamza Muazu is, on one level, a routine procedural step courts issue subpoenas when witnesses fail to appear voluntarily. But in the context of the Emefiele trial, the subpoenas carry a significance that transcends procedure. They signal that the court has moved from patience to compulsion, from encouragement to enforcement and that the era of accommodating the prosecution’s witness management difficulties through repeated adjournments is drawing to a close. Jim Obazee’s testimony, if it materialises today, will be the most anticipated moment in the Emefiele trial since the case began. He is not just another witness in a long witness list. He is the man whose investigation gave the EFCC its case whose preliminary report named the $6.23 million, mapped the forgeries, identified the beneficiaries, and recommended prosecution. Every other witness who has appeared before him has, in one form or another, been building toward the moment when Obazee himself sits in the witness box and speaks to what he found. If he testifies fully and coherently, the prosecution’s case will receive the authoritative foundation it has lacked throughout these proceedings. If he does not appear or appears and is limited in what he can say the defence’s foreclosure application moves from a procedural threat to an existential one. The Naira redesign thread is equally worth watching. The redesign policy sits at the intersection of monetary policy, political strategy, and the specific criminal allegations in this case. The timing of the $6.23 million withdrawal February 2023, in the thick of the redesign cash crisis and just weeks before the general election has never been adequately explained in public. If Obazee and Okpoziakpo are questioned on newspaper publications from that period, the court may hear testimony that for the first time publicly connects the dots between the redesign controversy and the alleged misappropriation of funds. That would make today’s proceedings not just legally significant but historically important for understanding one of the most consequential periods in recent Nigerian economic and political history. Nigeria is watching. Justice Muazu has done what the law allows he has compelled the witnesses to come. What happens when the court resumes at 9 a.m. today will determine whether the Emefiele trial finally reaches its evidentiary climax or descends into yet another procedural crisis.
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