Godwin Emefiele, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), appeared in court on Wednesday and pleaded innocent to accusations of authorizing the printing of ₦684.5m at a rate of ₦18.96bn. He faced a four-count charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Maryann Anenih of the FCT High Court, Abuja.
The charges against Emefiele allege that he violated legal directives with the intention of harming the public while implementing the naira swap policy under the former administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Additionally, the EFCC accused him of improperly approving the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
Despite these allegations, Emefiele pleaded not guilty to the charges.
This recent court appearance marks the third set of charges against the former CBN governor. Previously, on November 17, 2023, he faced a six-count charge of procurement fraud before Justice Hamza Muazu, to which he also pleaded innocent. Among these charges was the accusation of misusing his authority by approving a contract for the purchase of 43 vehicles worth N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020.
Furthermore, on April 8, 2024, Emefiele was arraigned alongside Henry Omoile before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, on charges of alleged $4.5bn and N2.8bn fraud. Once again, he pleaded not guilty to the accusations.
