The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has found himself in fresh trouble after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed a new 26-count criminal charge against him.
According to EFCC, the fresh 26-count charge filed against Emefiele borders on accepting gratification, accepting gifts through agents, corruption, receipt of property fraudulently obtained, and conferring corrupt advantage on his associates.
EFCC’s lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) filed the charge sheet, marked ID/23787c/2024, and dated April 3, 2024, alleging that Emefiele was found culpable of abusing his office between 2022 and 2023 in Lagos.
The embattled former CBN governor has now been scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, April 8.
Emefiele will be arraigned before Judge Rahman Oshodi, of the Ikeja High Court in Lagos state.
“You, Godwin 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 charge read.
“Emefiele, between 2020 and 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: allocating foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $291,945,785.59, without bids, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.”
The troubled former CBN governor was further alleged to have, in 2021, in Lagos, carried a “special allocation of foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $1,769,254,793.16, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians”.
According to the charge, Emefiele’s co-defendant was alleged to have received about $110,000 for the former CBN boss as a reward for allocating foreign exchange in November 2020.
It was highlighted in the charge that the offences Emefiele and his co-defendant committed contravened Section 73 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
Before EFCC filed the new 26-count charge against Emefiele, the former CBN boss was facing a 20-count amended charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, procurement fraud and conspiracy to commit a felony.
