The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is gearing up to arraign former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, over allegations of authorizing the printing of N684.5 million notes, costing N18.9 billion.
In a new four-count charge, the EFCC accuses Emefiele of flouting the law to the detriment of the public during his implementation of the naira swap policy under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The anti-graft agency further alleges that Emefiele unlawfully approved the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
The charges detail Emefiele’s alleged violations of the law, including knowingly disobeying the direction of the CBN Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, causing injury to the public.
“That you GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE between the 19th day of October 2022 and 5th March 2023 in Abuja, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007, by approving the printing of N375,520,000.00 pieces of colour swapped N1, 000, at the total cost of N11,052, 068,062 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.
COUNT 2: “That you, GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE, between the 19th of October 2022 and 5th March 2023 in Abuja, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 19 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, by approving the printing of 172,000,000 pieces of colour swapped N500 (Five Hundred Naira) Notes, at the total cost of N4, 471,066,040 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.
COUNT 3: “That you GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE between the 19th day of October 2022 and 5th March 2023 in Abuja, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007, by approving the printing of 137,070,000 pieces of colour swapped N200 (Two Hundred Naira) Note, at the total cost of N3, 441, 005, 280 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.”
COUNT 4: “That you, GODWIN IFEANYI EMEFIELE, on or about the 7th day of October 2020, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 80 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended), by approving the withdrawal of the total sum of N124, 860, 227, 865.16 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation in a manner not prescribed by the National Assembly, which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.”
Scheduled for April 30, Emefiele’s arraignment before Justice Maryann Anenih of the FCT High Court, Abuja will mark the third set of charges against him.
On November 17, 2023, Emefiele previously faced six counts of procurement fraud before Justice Hamza Muazu, to which he pleaded not guilty. He was also accused of abusing his office by approving a contract for 43 vehicles totaling N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020.
Moreover, on April 8, 2024, the EFCC arraigned Emefiele and Henry Omoile before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, over an alleged $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud. Emefiele pleaded not guilty to these charges as well.
The new charge, filed on April 2, 2024, was presented by the EFCC prosecutor, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Rotimi Oyedepo, along with eight other lawyers representing the Attorney General of the Federation.
