JUST IN: Emefiele Arrives Court for Arraignment on Fresh 26-count Charge

The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has appeared at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja for his arraignment on allegations of abuse of office.

Accompanied by Henry Isioma Omoile, Emefiele faces a fresh 26-count charge before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja High Court. The charges include accusations of accepting gratification, receiving gifts through intermediaries, corruption, and fraudulent property receipt.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), filed the charges on April 3, alleging Emefiele of conferring corrupt advantages on his associates, contravening the Corrupt Practices Act, 2000.

This development comes amidst an ongoing prosecution by the EFCC at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, where Emefiele faces allegations of fraudulent financial transactions during his tenure as CBN governor.

The arraignment process is currently underway, with some of the counts reading, “that you, GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE, between 2022 and 2023, in Lagos, directed to be done in abuse of the authority of your office, as the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, an arbitrary act, to wit: allocating foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $2,136,391,737.33 without bids, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.”

Further counts detail instances of alleged corruption and acceptance of funds from various entities.

The outcome of the arraignment and subsequent legal proceedings will be closely monitored as Emefiele faces these grave charges.