Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has been released from the Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja. Emefiele regained his freedom on Friday afternoon after his legal team successfully perfected his bail conditions.
Justice Hamza Muazu had granted bail to Emefiele, amounting to N300 million with two sureties in like sum. The former CBN governor was arraigned on November 18 on a six-count charge related to procurement fraud and allegedly using his position to confer a corrupt advantage on Sa’adatu Yaro, a CBN staff.
The charges pertained to the award of a contract for the procurement of 43 vehicles worth N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020.
During his time in custody, Emefiele was required to deposit all his travel documents with the court registrar and remain within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
Amos Duza, the spokesman of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), confirmed Emefiele’s release, stating that it occurred around 2 pm.
Apart from the ongoing legal proceedings, Emefiele’s time in office is under investigation for alleged embezzlement of billions of naira and other financial offenses.
The Special Investigator probing the CBN, Jim Obazee, has been examining these allegations for the past four months.
The Special Investigator probing the CBN, Jim Obazee, submitted a report to President Bola Tinubu on December 9, 2023.
The report alleges that Emefiele engaged in fraudulent cash withdrawals of $6.23 million, committed fraud in the redesign of the naira, and kept 543.4 million pounds in the United Kingdom during his tenure from June 2014 to June 2023.
