The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has arrived at the Ikeja State High Court in Lagos to face fresh charges. Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Isioma Omole, are accused of 26 counts of improper allocation of financial resources and misuse of office. The charges were brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and will be presided over by Justice Rahman Oshodi.
The charges, detailed in document ID/23787c/2024 and dated April 3, 2024, allege that Emefiele engaged in acts of abuse between 2022 and 2023 while in office in Lagos, to the detriment of Nigerian citizens. The EFCC claims that Emefiele “directed to be done in abuse of the authority of your office, as the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, an arbitrary act, to wit: allocating foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $2,136,391,737.33 without bids, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.”
The EFCC also alleges that between 2020 and 2021, Emefiele “directed to be done in abuse of the authority of your office, as the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, an arbitrary act, to wit: allocating foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $291,945,785.59, without bids, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.”
Furthermore, in 2021, Emefiele was alleged to have “directed to be done in abuse of the authority of your office, as the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, an arbitrary act, to wit: special allocation of foreign exchange in the aggregate sum of $1,769,254,793.16, which act is prejudicial to the rights of Nigerians.”
In count four, the sum involved was $370,872,893.01. Emefiele’s co-defendant Omoile was alleged to have accepted $110,000 in gifts as a reward for allocating foreign exchange by the Central Bank in favor of Raja Punjab’s employer on November 17, 2020, in Lagos, while acting as an agent.