Throw Away Procurement Fraud Charges Against Me, Emefiele Prays Court

Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday urged an Abuja High Court to dismiss the prosecution in his ongoing trial over alleged procurement fraud.

Emefiele is standing trial before Justice Hamza Muazu on an amended 20-count charge filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) in case number CR/577/2023.

The federal government accuses him of criminal breach of trust, conferring corrupt advantage, forgery, conspiracy to obtain by false pretences, and obtaining money by false pretences.

Among the allegations, he was said to have abused his office by awarding six contracts for the supply of vehicles worth ₦1.21 billion between 2018 and 2022 to April 1616, a company linked to a CBN staff member, Sa’adatu Ramalan Yaro.

At Tuesday’s resumed hearing, defence counsel Mathew Burkaa, SAN, asked the court to dismiss the prosecution for failing to appear, despite being aware of the adjourned date.

Burkaa told the court that prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, neither attended nor sent a representative.

He said he was only informed via WhatsApp by the court registrar that a letter seeking adjournment had been sent, purportedly by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He, however, questioned the EFCC’s role, noting that the charges were brought by the AGF, not the anti-graft agency.

He further argued that Emefiele and his team travelled from Lagos for the hearing, stressing that the prosecution had previously sought accelerated trial.

In his ruling, Justice Muazu warned that the court would take “necessary steps” if the prosecution failed to appear at the next sitting, but granted them one final opportunity.

The matter was adjourned to October 22 for continuation of hearing.