EFCC slams fresh charge against Ex-CBN governor Emefiele

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a new charge against the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

In this fresh charge, Emefiele is accused of approving the printing of N684,590,000, amounting to N18.96 billion.

The EFCC alleges that this action was in violation of the law and intended to harm the public, particularly during the implementation of the naira swap policy of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The anti-graft agency also alleges that Emefiele unlawfully approved the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.

The charge sheet further accuses Emefiele of knowingly disobeying the direction of Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007, by approving the printing of N375,520,000 pieces of color-swapped N1,000 notes, costing N11,052,068,062, without the recommendation of the CBN Board and the strict approval of the President of Nigeria.

This is not the first time Emefiele has faced legal scrutiny. Previously, on November 18, 2023, he was arraigned on six counts of procurement-related charges, including abusing his office by approving a contract to acquire 43 vehicles totaling N1.2 billion from 2018 to 2020.

Furthermore, on April 8, 2024, Emefiele was arraigned alongside another individual for an alleged $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud before Justice R.A. Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos.

Emefiele had been suspended by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 9, 2023, following which the government launched investigations into the management of the CBN during his tenure.