Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of approving the printing of ₦684.5m at the rate of ₦18.96bn. Emefiele appeared before Justice Maryann Anenih of the FCT High Court, Abuja, facing a four-count charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC accused Emefiele of disobeying the law with intent to cause public injury during his implementation of the naira swap policy of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Additionally, they alleged Emefiele unlawfully approved the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
This marks the third charge against the former CBN governor, following his arraignment on November 17, 2023, before Justice Hamza Muazu on a six-count charge of procurement fraud, to which he pleaded not guilty. Among other allegations, Emefiele was accused of abusing his office by approving a contract for the acquisition of 43 vehicles totaling N1.2 billion from 2018 to 2020.
On April 8, 2024, Emefiele was arraigned alongside one Henry Omoile before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, for an alleged $4.5bn and N2.8bn fraud, to which he also pleaded not guilty.
The new charge, dated April 2, 2024, was filed by EFCC prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) alongside eight other lawyers acting on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation. Counts one to four of the charge accuse Emefiele of disobeying the direction of law with intent to cause injury to the public, contrary to and punishable under Section 123 of the Penal Code Law, Cap. 89 Laws of the Federation, 1990. Each count provides particulars of Emefiele’s alleged offenses related to approving the printing of various denominations of Nigerian currency without proper authorization.
