Former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, is set to be arraigned at the Ikeja State High Court in Lagos on Monday, April 8, 2024, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Emefiele, along with his co-defendant Henry Isioma Omole, faces 26 counts of alleged abuse of office relating to the allocation of billions of United States dollars.
The charges, filed by Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) on April 3, 2024, accuse Emefiele of directing arbitrary allocations of foreign exchange without bids, totaling $2.1 billion between 2022 and 2023.
The EFCC alleges Emefiele directed similar actions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars between 2020 and 2021, prejudicing the rights of Nigerians.
Omole, the co-defendant, is accused of accepting $110,000 in gifts as a reward for Emefiele’s allocation of foreign exchange to a third party.
The offenses are said to contravene Section 73 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has formally closed the months-long investigation into the matter, commending the dedication of the Central Bank Investigator, Jim Obazee, and expressing confidence in follow-up actions by law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
