The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, is due to be prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly authorizing the printing of notes worth N684.5 million, amounting to N18.96 billion.
On Tuesday, 23rd April 2024, the EFCC filed a new four-count charge against Mr Emefiele, accusing him of breaking the law with the intention of harming the public during his implementation of the naira swap policy under the previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Furthermore, the commission alleges that Emefiele unlawfully sanctioned the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the Federation’s Consolidated Revenue Fund. He is scheduled to appear before Justice Maryann Anenih on April 30 to face the new charges.
It’s worth noting that Emefiele was previously brought before another judge on November 18, 2023, on six counts of procurement fraud. The beleaguered bank executive was also charged with abusing his position by approving a contract for the purchase of 43 vehicles, costing a total of N1.2 billion, between 2018 and 2020.
On April 8, the EFCC brought charges against the former bank executive and Henry Omoile before Justice R.A. Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, for an alleged fraud amounting to $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion. The new charge, filed on April 2 and marked CR/264/2024, was lodged by criminal law specialist Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN).
The charges accuse Emefiele of knowingly disobeying the direction of Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007, by approving the printing of various denominations of notes without the recommendation of the Central Bank’s Board and the strict approval of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This conduct allegedly caused harm to the public. Additionally, Emefiele is accused of knowingly disobeying Section 80 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended), by approving the withdrawal of a significant sum from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation in a manner not prescribed by the National Assembly. This conduct also allegedly caused harm to the public.
