Nigeria’s ex-central bank chief Emefiele faces fresh charges on Monday
Nigeria’s former central bank governor Godwin Emefiele will appear in a Lagos court on Monday after the country’s anticorruption body on Friday filed 26 fresh charges against him alleging misuse of authority and corrupt practices.
Emefiele is already facing procurement fraud charges in another court in the capital Abuja – which he has denied – after being detained in June last year by the Department of State Services.
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He was later transferred to anticorruption body the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and was granted bail in November.
The latest charges include receiving bribes, accepting gifts via intermediaries, engaging in corrupt practices, obtaining property fraudulently, and providing improper benefits to his associates, court documents showed.
A legal representative for Emefiele did not respond to a request for comment on the new charges on Saturday.
The former central bank governor was suspended by President Bola Tinubu on June 9 and arrested a day later. He resigned in August, paving the way for the appointment of new governor Olayemi Cardoso in September.
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On Friday a special investigator hired by President Tinubu to probe the central bank under Emefiele said he had completed his work. The conclusions of his report have not been made public.
Existing charges and allegations
Already, Emefiele is facing serious allegations related to abuse of office. EFCC brought forth charges against him and his co-defendant, Henry Isioma Omole, for their actions during specific periods in Lagos.
Allegations by EFCC:
- Between 2022 and 2023, Emefiele allegedly directed the allocation of foreign exchange amounting to $2,136,391,737.33 without bids, which was deemed prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.
- In another instance between 2020 and 2021, he was accused of allocating foreign exchange totaling $291,945,785.59 without bids.
- Additionally, in 2021, Emefiele allegedly engaged in a special allocation of foreign exchange worth $1,769,254,793.16.
- Another charge involved a sum of $370,872,893.01.
Co-Defendant’s Involvement
Henry Isioma Omole was implicated for accepting $110,000 from Raja Punjab through Monday Osazuwa on November 17, 2020. This acceptance was purportedly a reward for Emefiele’s allocation of foreign exchange in favor of Raja Punjab’s employer.
These actions are said to have contravened Section 73 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State in 2011.
