Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele faced another legal battle as he appeared before the Special Offences Court in Lagos on Monday.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) leveled 26 charges of fraud and corruption against him.
Mr. Emefiele pleaded not guilty to all the charges, marking the beginning of a second legal saga since his indictment by Jim Obaze, a special investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu.
The charges stemmed from his tenure as the CBN governor, which ended in June the previous year.
The accusations included abuse of office and irregular allocation of significant amounts of foreign currency totaling $4.5 billion and £2.8 billion during his time in office.
EFCC also alleged corrupt receipt of funds from companies like NIPCO Plc and Raja Punjab, as well as conferring advantages on associates and allocating forex without a bid.
During the arraignment, Judge Rahman Oshodi ordered Mr. Emefiele to be remanded in EFCC custody until April 11th, when the court will rule on his bail application.
This development added to the ongoing trial at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, where the EFCC previously accused him of criminal conspiracy, conferring undue advantage, and breach of trust among other charges.
The EFCC amended the charges in the Abuja case, increasing the counts from six to 20 and removing a former co-defendant from the case.
Below is FULL LIST of the fresh charges
- Abuse of office by irregular allocation of cumulative $4.5 billion and £2.8 billion in foreign currency.
- Corrupt receipt of funds totaling $26,552,000 from NIPCO Plc.
- Corrupt receipt of funds totaling $7,720,000 from Raja Punjab on account of forex to his employer.
- Conferred corrupt advantage on his associate, Limelight Multidimensional Services Ltd, to the tune of ₦900,216,324.21.
- Irregular allocation of forex amounting to $291,945,785.59 without bid.
- Corrupt receipt of $740,000 from NIPCO Plc.
- Corrupt receipt of $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 amounting to $1,769,254,793.16.
- Corrupt receipt of $2,410,000 from Raja Punjab on account of forex to his employer.
- Corrupt receipt of $400,000 from Source Computer Ltd as a 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 allocation of forex amounting to $370,872,893.01.
- Corrupt receipt of $6,320,000 from Raja Punjab on account of forex to his employer.
- Corrupt receipt of $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.