The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, adjourned the fourth arraignment of former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele until May 15.
Emefiele will appear before Justice Maryanne Anenih in a case titled CR/264/2024, which concerns the illegal printing of naira notes.
It is the fourth criminal case brought against him by the federal government since his suspension in June of last year.
Although the most recent charge was filed before Justice Anenih on Tuesday, neither the prosecution nor the defence appeared in court.
It was discovered that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which is prosecuting the case, had requested an adjournment.
According to the charge sheet obtained by our source, the EFCC accused Emefiele of “knowingly disobeying the direction of Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007, by approving the printing of N375,520,000.00 pieces of colour-swapped N1, 000 notes at the total cost of N11,052, 068,062 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
It is the fourth criminal prosecution launched against Emefiele by the Federal Government since his dismissal from office by President Bola Tinubu in June.
The DSS initially charged him with illegal possession of firearms before the Federal High Court of Lagos. The case was eventually withdrawn.
In November, the EFCC arraigned him before Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Territory High Court on accusations of procurement fraud and forgery of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s signature.
On April 8, he was charged before the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja.
The 23 accusations filed against him before Justice Rahman Oshodi include “abuse of office, accepting gratifications, corrupt demand, receiving fraudulently obtained property, and conferring corrupt advantage.”
