Emefiele Faces Renewed Legal Trouble: Remanded in Alleged N1 Billion Fraud Case
Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has been ordered by the High Court in the Federal Capital Territory to be remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre until a decision is made on his bail request.
This remand order follows an earlier order by Justice Olukayode Adeniyi, who had ordered Emefiele’s release to his lawyers on November 8 after spending 151 days in detention.
Emefiele is currently facing trial for alleged procurement fraud. The trial, which had been delayed three times, finally took place on Friday.
Initially, the Federal Government had brought forward 20 charges of procurement fraud amounting to N6.5 billion against the former CBN governor.
However, the charges were reduced to six, totaling over N1 billion, and he was arraigned on Friday.
During the proceedings, Emefiele’s counsel, Mathew Burkaa SAN, requested bail, which was opposed by the FG counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo.
Justice Hamza Muazu, the presiding judge, decided to study the authorities and exhibits presented by Emefiele before delivering a bench ruling.
In the meantime, Emefiele has been remanded at the Kuje prison until a decision is made on his bail application.
The case has been adjourned until November 22 for the ruling on the bail application and November 28 for the trial to begin.
