Emefiele Pleads Not Guilty to Alleged Abuse of Office Regarding Allocation of Billions of Dollars
The immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has pleaded not guilty to an offence bordering on abuse of office regarding the allocation of billions of dollars following his arraignment before a Lagos Special Offences Court in Ikeja.
Emefiele was arraigned along with Henry Isioma Omole on an amended 26-count charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
EFCC Counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, informed the court that the Commission have amended charge information and proof of evidence, noting that the same has been served on the defendants while urging the court to their plea.
The defendant’s counsel, Abdulhakeem Labi-Lawal confirmed been served with the amended information and the court directed the registrar to take their plea.
When the amended 26-count was read to the defendants, they pleaded not guilty.
According to the count, Emefiele “directed an act to be executed in abuse of his office, as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, which was arbitrary in nature, to wit: allocating foreign exchange without bids for $2,136,391,737.33, which is prejudicial to Nigerians’ rights.”
In the 1st count, Emefiele is charged with “abuse of office” in Lagos between 2022 and 2023, under Section 73 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
In count 5, Emefiele’s co defendant Omoile was accused of, “about the 17th of November, 2020, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court whilst acting as an agent accepted from Raja Punjab through Monday Osazuwa, the total sum of $110,000, for GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE, gifts as reward for allocating foreign exchange by the Central Bank in favor of Raja Punjab’s employer.”
