The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, was re-arraigned on Friday before Justice Hamza Muazu of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The re-arraignment comes as part of amended charges, now totaling 20 counts, presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on behalf of the Federal Government.
Emefiele pleaded not guilty to the charges read in open court, which include allegations of conferring corrupt advantage, forgery, and obtaining by false pretense.
The former CBN governor had initially faced a six-count charge when first arraigned on November 17, 2023.
In the amended charges, Emefiele is accused of using his position as the CBN governor to award six different contracts to Sa’adatu Ramalan Yero, a CBN staff member, between 2018 and 2020, totaling N1,210,600,000. Sa’adatu Ramalan Yero is a director in the company that received the procurement contracts.
While retaining the previous six-count charge, the prosecution added 14 more counts to the amended charges.
After Emefiele’s plea, the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo SAN, requested a trial date.
Emefiele’s defense counsel, Mathew Burkaa SAN, requested that his client be allowed to continue enjoying the bail granted on November 22, 2023, which the court approved.
