Former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, faced fresh charges at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama, Abuja, on Friday, involving 20 counts related to corruption and forgery. Emefiele, donned in an ash-colored pair of trousers and a dark jacket, appeared at the court with his legal team.
Originally charged with six counts of N1.2 billion procurement allegations, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) amended the charges against Emefiele, who pleaded not guilty to the new 20-count charges. The accusations include forgery, conferring a corrupt advantage, and criminal breach of trust.
In the amended charges, Emefiele was alleged to have obtained $6.2 million through pretense by falsely representing the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The EFCC claimed this act violated Section 1(1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offences Act, 2006.
One of the charges read, “That you, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, knowingly obtained by false pretense, the sum of six million, two hundred and thirty thousand United States dollars ($6.230m) by falsely representing the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”
Emefiele was also accused of conspiring with Eric Ocheme (still at large) to commit forgery. Another charge stated that they agreed to forge a document titled “Presidential directive on foreign election observer missions.”
Furthermore, Emefiele was alleged to have conferred a corrupt advantage on his wife and brother-in-law by awarding a contract for the renovation of a portion of the CBN Governor’s residence in Lagos, amounting to N99.8 million. This charge contravened Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act 2000.
After the arraignment, the case was adjourned till February 12 and 13, 2024, for the commencement of the trial. Emefiele’s counsel expressed gratitude to the trial judge for allowing his client to enjoy bail ahead of the trial, emphasizing their commitment to complying with the rule of law.
