EFCC slams 26-count abuse of office charge against Emefiele
EFCC slams 26-count abuse of office charge against Emefiele
EFCC slams 26-count abuse of office charge against Emefiele
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has slammed the immediate past Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele with a fresh a 26-count charge bordering on corruption.
He is expected to be arraigned on Monday, April 8, at the Ikeja State High Court in Lagos for alleged abuse of office over allocation of billions of dollars.
The charges were filed Friday, April 5, the same day President Bola Tinubu received the final comprehensive report of the Special Investigator of the apex bank under Emefiele, and other related entities. The Special Investigator, Mr Jim Obazee, concluded his assignment on March 31, 2024.
One Henry Isioma Omole is charged with Emefiele in the new case.
The charge sheet, marked ID/23787c/2024 of April 3, 2024, was filed by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Rotimi Oyedepo.
The 1st count states that Emefiele “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.”
The offence was allegedly committed between 2022 and 2023 and punishable under Section 73 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
Under Count two, Emefiele between 2020 and 2021, in Lagos, is alleged to have “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 $291,945,785.59, without bids, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.
In the 3rd count, Emefiele was alleged to have, in 2021, 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: special allocation of foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $1,769,254,793.16, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.”
In count four, the sum involved was $370,872,893.01.
In count 5, Emefiele’s co defendant Omole 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.”
Emefiele is currently being tried by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory over alleged fraudulent payment of $6,230,000 in cash for international election observers in the 2023 general elections
