Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele, on Monday, appeared before the Special Offences Court in Lagos, where the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presented 26 charges of fraud and corruption against him.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Emefiele pleaded not guilty to all the fresh charges, marking the beginning of the second fraud and corruption case filed against him by the EFCC since his indictment by Jim Obaze, a special investigator engaged by President Bola Tinubu to investigate the activities of the CBN on his watch.
EFCC is prosecuting Mr Emefiele at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja over his alleged corrupt activities as CBN governor, which terminated in June last year.
The fresh charges against him in Lagos include abuse of office and irregular allocation of cumulative $4.5 billion and £2.8 billion while he was in office as CBN governor.
EFCC also accused him of corruptly receiving funds, conferring advantages on associates, and allocating forex without a bid.
The prosecution alleged that he corruptly received funds from companies like NIPCO Plc and Raja Punjab and conferred corrupt advantage on his associates, including Limelight Multidimensional Services Ltd, Adswin Resources Solution Ltd, and COMEC Support Services Ltd.
The arraignment occurred before the trial judge Rahman Oshodi, who subsequently ordered the remand of Mr Emefiele in EFCC custody until 11 April, when the court is expected to rule on his bail application.
Before charging him afresh, the EFCC was already prosecuting him in an ongoing trial at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.
In the Abuja case, the anti-corruption commission EFCC accused the former CBN governor of criminal conspiracy, conferring undue advantage, and breach of trust, among others.
The commission, in the amended charges, increased the number of counts from six to 20, and dropped a former co-defendant’s name, Sa’adatu Yaro, from the case.
In some of the counts, EFCC alleged that Mr Emefiele, in January 2023, forged a document titled, ‘Re: Presidential Directive on Foreign Election Observer Missions,’ dated January 2023 with reference number, SGF.43/L.01/201.
The EFCC alleged that Mr Emefiele made the claim knowing the same to be false.
Highlights of the fresh charges contained in an EFCC release on Tuesday include:
*Allocating forex of $2,136,391, 737.33
*Corruptly received $26, 552,000 from NIPCO Plc
*Corruptly received $7, 720,000 from Raja Punjab on account of for example his employer
*Conferred corrupt advantage on his associate, Limelight Multidimensional Services Ltd to the tune of ₦900, 216,324.21
*Allocated forex of $291, 945,785.59 without bid
*Corruptly received $740, 000 from NIPCO Plc
*Corruptly received $850, 000 from Raja Punjab on account of forex to his employer
*Conferred corrupt advantage on his associate, Limelight Multidimensional Services Ltd to the tune of ₦1, 060,030,249.42
*Conferred corrupt advantage on his associate, Adswin Resources Solution Ltd to the tune of ₦398, 031,732.32
*Abuse of office by special allocation of forex of $1, 769,254,793.16
*Corruptly received $2, 410,000 from Raja Punjab on account of forex to his employer
*Corruptly received $400, 000 from Source Computer Ltd as kickback for contract award
*Conferred corrupt advantage on his associate, COMEC Support Services Ltd to the tune of ₦149, 001,009.70
*Conferred corrupt advantage on his associate, Adswin Resources Solution Ltd, to the tune of ₦204, 992,739.51
*Abuse of office by special allocating of forex of $370 872,893.01
*Corruptly received $6 320,000 from Raja Punjab on account of forex to his employer
*Corruptly received $200 000 from Source Computer Ltd as a kickback for a contract award
*Conferred corrupt advantage on his associate, COMEC Support Services Ltd, to the tune of ₦151, 168,458.73
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