The absence of a co-defendant halted the scheduled appearance of Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on charges of procurement fraud at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja on Thursday.
Although represented by her lawyer, co-defendant Sa’adatu Ramalan-Yaro was said to have been absent from court due to health problems. However, Emefiele was present and appeared ready to be prosecuted in a case involving 20 counts of conspiracy and procurement fraud.
The case came before a judge from the Maitama Division of the FCT High Court, Hamzat Muazu.
After the suspended CBN governor was brought to the dock, the director of the Public Ministry (DPP), Mohammed Abubakar, informed the court that Ms. Ramallan-Yaro “is not willing to appear in court”. He said he was informed of the woman’s condition on Thursday morning.
Mr. Abubakar requested an adjournment to allow the prosecution to present the defendants for arraignment.
In response to the request for adjournment, Mr. Emefiele’s lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, Chief Advocate for Nigeria (SAN), requested a brief hearing with Mr. Emefiele, which the DPP did not object to.
“I must congratulate the DPP on their professional handling of this matter so far,” Kehinde told the judge.
Ms. Ramalan-Yaro’s lawyer, Abdulhakeem Labi-Lawal, also agreed to the postponement request.
However, he informed the court of a pending bail application for Ms. Ramalan-Yaro.
The judge said the bail request would be taken after the defendants are arraigned.
The court adjourned the lawsuit until August 23 for arraignment.
Emefiele’s trial
Mr Emefiele was charged together with Ms Ramalan-Yaro and her company, April 1616 Investment Limited.
Mr Emefiele and Ms Ramalan-Yaro, described in the charge as CBN staff, were charged with conspiracy and procurement fraud of up to 6.9 billion naira.
The charges alleged that Mr. Emefiele conferred corrupt advantages on Ms. Ramalan-Yaro, using his firm, April 1616 Investment Limited.
The government alleged that the defendants committed procurement fraud by awarding contracts to Ms. Ramalan-Yaro’s company for the supply of automobiles.
The defendants, allegedly through corrupt transactions, purchased a fleet of around 100 fancy cars and armored buses worth approximately N6.9 billion.
The alleged corrupt transactions took place between 2018 and 2020, according to the charges.
Emefiele has been in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS) since June 10, a day after President Bola Tinubu suspended the bank chief from office.
Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Act 2000, under which he was charged, provides for a prison sentence of five years upon conviction.
“Any public official who uses his office or position to gratify or confer a corrupt or unfair advantage on himself or any relative or associate of the public official or any other public official shall be guilty of an offense and may be sentenced to imprisonment for five years without the option of a fine”, establishes the law.
President Bola Tinubu suspended Emefiele as CBN governor on June 9. The next day, June 10, the SSS picked him up in Lagos and took him to their headquarters in Abuja for questioning.
Since then, Emefiele has remained in SSS custody. Her co-defendant in the new case, Ms. Ramalan-Yaro, who was arrested along with her husband, Aminu Yaro, on July 12, also remains in custody.
This newspaper reported how the FCT Superior Court ordered the release of the couple on July 25. But the order was not carried out.
It took an order from the FCT High Court on July 13, more than a month after the arrest, for the SSS to file firearms possession charges against Mr. Emefiele.
Subsequently, on 25 July, the SSS indicted him before the Lagos Federal High Court on two counts of “illegal possession” of firearms and live ammunition.
The government requested on Tuesday that firearms possession charges against Emefiele be dropped.
Newslodge also reported that Mr Emefiele’s co-defendant in the new charges also has a pending money laundering case involving around N140 billion.
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