On Monday, April 8, 2024, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to arraign Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, at the Ikeja State High Court in Lagos.
The charges against Emefiele stem from alleged abuse of office concerning the allocation of billions of United States dollars. Alongside Emefiele, his co-defendant Henry Isioma Omole will also face arraignment on 26 counts before Justice Rahman Oshodi.
The charges, marked ID/23787c/2024 and dated April 3, 2024, were filed by Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN). The EFCC accuses Emefiele of abusing his office between 2022 and 2023 in Lagos, allegedly directing arbitrary allocations of foreign exchange totaling $2,136,391,737.33 without bids, actions deemed prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.
Additionally, between 2020 and 2021, Emefiele purportedly directed allocations of foreign exchange amounting to $291,945,785.59 and $1,769,254,793.16 without proper procedure, further prejudicing Nigerian citizens.
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One of the counts against Emefiele involves a sum of $370,872,893.01. Emefiele’s co-defendant, Omole, is implicated in accepting $110,000 on November 17, 2020, allegedly acting as an agent for Emefiele and receiving it as a reward from Raja Punjab through Monday Osazuwa for allocating foreign exchange in favor of Raja Punjab’s employer.
These actions, as outlined in the charges, are said to contravene Section 73 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011. The arraignment marks a significant development in the legal proceedings surrounding Emefiele’s alleged misconduct during his tenure as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.