Alex Enumah in Abuja The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday was granted permission to call its last witness in the alleged procurement fraud charge against a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele. The permission however came with a cost of N500,000 to be paid to the defendant by the EFCC. The anti-graft agency is prosecuting Emefiele on an amended 20-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, forgery, abuse of office, conspiracy to obtain by false pretence and obtaining money by false pretence while serving as CBN governor. The EFCC, in the charge marked: FCT/HC/CR/577/2023, is alleging that the former CBN boss knowingly obtained by false pretence the sum of $6,230,000 purportedly meant for international election observers for the 2023 general election. Besides, the anti-graft agency is also claiming that Emefiele conferred corrupt advantages on two companies—April 1616 Nigeria Ltd and Architekon Nigeria Ltd — in the award of contracts. He however, denied all the counts preferred against him in the charge. When the matter was called on Tuesday, Mr Abbas Mohammed, who represented the prosecution, informed the court that in line with the prosecution’s request at the proceedings of March 5, 2026, the prosecution has obtained the certified copies of the Code of Conduct forms of the defendant and would be substituting that of 2014 with 2019. Mohammed added that following the above, it has been communicating with the witness, DCP Eloho Okpozoiakpo, who only told him that before he could appear in court, leave must be sought from the Inspector General of Police (IGP). He added that the witness is also unavailable for the day’s proceedings as he was scheduled to appear before another court. The prosecution counsel thereafter, “request for an adjournment to call our last witness”. Responding, Emefiele’s lawyer, Mr Mathew Burkaa, said: “We are opposed to that application,” on the grounds that the prosecution has exceeded the number of times it can ask for an adjournment in the trial. He listed the dates the EFCC had requested for adjournment to include; November 28, 2023; March 7, 2024; August 24, 2024; October 21, 2024; November 13, 2024; February 3, 2025; September 23, 2025, adding that the request of March 16, 2026 makes it “the eighth at the instance of the prosecution”. “At the proceedings of September 23, Mr Wara appeared before the court and stated that they are going to call their last witness. After that they have called two, yesterday it was adjourned at the instance of the prosecution,” he said. Citing Section 396 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act ACJA, 2015, Burkaa argued that nobody should be entitled to more than five adjournment, adding that this would be the eighth the court would be granting the prosecution. Delivering ruling, trial judge, Justice Hamza Muazu, held that the same Section 396 of the ACJA also clothe the judge with the discretion to grant adjournment. While stating that the witness is one that he was not ready to shut out, Justice Muazu held that: “I shall grant the prosecution the adjournment to call their last witness in terms….500,000 as cost. “The money to be paid before the next adjourned date.” He subsequently adjourned to April 27, for the EFCC to call its last witness against Emefiele, in the alleged procurement fraud trial. So far, the anti-graft agency has called 12 witness in its bid to establish the charge against the former CBN boss.