Emefiele’s Trial Date Rescheduled to October, Legal Battle Intensifies

A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has postponed the trial of Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), until October 2024.
Justice Hamza Muazu adjourned the proceedings until October 21, following the testimonies of the 8th and 9th prosecution witnesses. However, a separate hearing is scheduled for July 8 to address Emefiele’s application requesting the release of his international passport for medical travel purposes.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged the former head of the apex bank before Justice Muazu with a 20-count amended charge of alleged procurement fraud, to which he pleaded not guilty. Additionally, he was accused of misusing his authority by authorizing a contract for the purchase of 43 vehicles amounting to N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020.

The anti-corruption agency also alleged that Emefiele falsified a document entitled ‘Re: Presidential Directive on Foreign Election Observer Missions’ dated January 26, 2023, with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/201, purportedly from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
During the recent court session, the EFCC presented two witnesses. Umar Tilde, the 8th prosecution witness who serves as the Compliance Officer at Zenith Bank, testified that the EFCC had requested financial records related to Emefiele’s accounts. The second witness, Mrs. Abibia Ockiya-Ogeleye, a lawyer involved in the incorporation process of Architekon Nigeria Ltd, focused on the company’s directors.

It is worth noting that on April 8, 2024, the EFCC arraigned the former apex bank chief alongside Henry Omoile before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, on charges of alleged $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud, to which he also pleaded not guilty.
In another legal matter presented before Justice Maryann Anenih at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, the Federal Government, represented by the EFCC, alleged in a four-count charge that Emefiele, acting in contravention of the law and “with the intent to harm the public,”printed the new naira notes without the approval of the former President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the CBN board.