The High Court in the Federal Capital Territory has issued an order for the remand of Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, in the Kuje Correctional Centre. This decision comes as Emefiele stands trial on charges of alleged procurement fraud.
The trial, which had faced delays on three previous occasions, finally proceeded on Friday. Initially facing 20 charges of procurement fraud amounting to N6.5 billion, the Federal Government reduced the charges to six, totaling over N1 billion, for which Emefiele was arraigned on Friday.
During Friday’s proceedings, Emefiele’s counsel, Mathew Burkaa SAN, moved the application for bail, but the Federal Government’s counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, strongly opposed granting bail to the former CBN governor. The presiding judge, Justice Hamza Muazu, expressed the need for more time to study the authorities and examine the exhibits submitted by Emefiele in support of his bail request.
While deferring the ruling on the bail application, Justice Muazu ordered the remand of Emefiele at the Kuje prison until the determination of his bail request. The case is adjourned until November 22 for the ruling on the bail application and November 28 for the commencement of the trial.
This development follows a previous order on November 8, when Justice Olukayode Adeniyi directed that Emefiele should be released to his lawyers after spending 151 days in detention. The legal proceedings surrounding Emefiele’s case continue to unfold, shedding light on the complexities of the charges and the former CBN governor’s defense.