EFCC To Arraign Emefiele On Fresh Charge

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is preparing to charge Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with allegations of unlawful conduct related to the printing of currency notes and unauthorized withdrawals from national funds.

Emefiele is accused of sanctioning the production of 684.5 million naira notes at a cost of 18.96 billion naira, which, according to the EFCC, was done in violation of the CBN Act and without proper approval from the President and the Central Bank’s board.

This unauthorized action is alleged to have caused harm to the public.

Furthermore, he is accused of approving the withdrawal of 124.8 billion naira from the Consolidated Revenue Fund without the approval of the National Assembly, as required by law.

The EFCC claims that these actions disobeyed legal protocols and resulted in public harm.

Emefiele will be arraigned on April 30, 2024, before Justice Maryann Anenih at the FCT High Court in Abuja, on four new charges.

This follows his previous arraignment on November 17, 2023, where he faced six counts of procurement fraud, to which he pleaded not guilty. He also faced charges related to the misuse of office by approving contracts for vehicle purchases.

Additionally, on April 8, 2024, Emefiele was arraigned alongside Henry Omoile at the Special Offenses Court in Lagos, facing allegations of significant financial fraud involving $4.5 billion and 2.8 billion naira. In all cases, Emefiele has maintained his innocence.

These new charges were filed by Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, along with eight other lawyers representing the Attorney General of the Federation.

The EFCC alleges that Emefiele’s actions between October 2022 and March 2023, including the printing of currency notes and unauthorized withdrawals, caused substantial harm to the public.