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BREAKING: Court sends Emefiele to Kuje prison.
BREAKING: Court sends Emefiele to Kuje prison.
Just a week after being released from EFCC custody, a court in Abuja has ordered former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele to be remanded in Kuje prison while his bail request is being determined.
Justice Hamza Muazu gave the order on Friday, following the arraignment of Emefiele by the Federal Government on a six-count charge bordering on alleged procurement.
Justice Muazu adjourned the case till November 22 for a ruling on the bail application of Emefiele and November 28 for the commencement of trial.
Emefiele, who was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) on Saturday, June 10, after he was suspended as CBN Governor on June 9 by President Bola Tinubu, was granted bail on Wednesday, November 8, by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja.
NewsReport earlier reported that the Federal Government had amended the alleged procurement charges it filed against Emefiele and reduced the charges, which originally were 20 to 6.
Marked CR/577/2023, the charges filed on November 8 were signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mohammed Abubakar; Deputy Director, Public Prosecution, Mrs. Nkiru Jones-Nebo; and eight other ministry officials.
Charged as the sole defendant, the Federal Government accused the former CBN governor of using his position to confer a corrupt advantage on Yaro by awarding a contract for the procurement of 43 vehicles worth N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020.
The alleged vehicles include 37 Toyota Hilux vehicles at a cost of N854.7 million, one Toyota Avalon at a cost of N99.9 million, one Toyota Landcruiser V8 at a cost of N73.8 million, and two Toyota Hilux Shell Specification vehicles at a cost of N44,200,000.
Emefiele was also alleged to have awarded Yaro a contract for the procurement of two Toyota Landcruiser VXR V8s worth 138 million.
According to the charges, the alleged procurement contravened Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Act 2000.
Count one read, “That you, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, male, adult, sometime in 2018, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did use your position as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to confer a corrupt advantage on Sa’adatu Ramallan Yaro, a staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria, by awarding a contract for the supply of 37 Toyota Hilux Vehicles at the cost of N854,700,000 only to April1616 Investment Ltd, a company in which the said Sa’adatu Ramallan Yaro is a director and thereby committed an offense.”
