Last Updated on May 15, 2024 by Silvy

EFCC arraigns Emefiele Wednesday over naira redesign

Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday for approving the printing of N684.5 million naira notes at a cost of N18.96 billion without following proper procedures.The EFCC and the Attorney General of the Federation filed a four-count charge against Emefiele, alleging that he disobeyed the law and caused injury to the public by:

1. Approving the printing of N375,520,000 pieces of color-swapped N1,000 notes at a cost of N11,052,068,062 without the recommendation of the CBN board and approval of the President.
2. Approving the printing of 172,000,000 pieces of color-swapped N500 notes at a cost of N4,471,066,040 without proper approvals.
3. Approving the printing of 137,070,000 pieces of color-swapped N200 notes at a cost of N3,441,005,280 without following procedures.
4. Unlawfully approving the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The arraignment, initially scheduled for April 30, was postponed to May 15 by agreement of the court and parties.This is the third set of charges against Emefiele. In November 2023, he was arraigned on six counts of procurement fraud and abuse of office, pleading not guilty. In April 2024, he was also charged alongside Henry Omoile for an alleged $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud, to which he also pleaded not guilty.

Sources:

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/585524-efcc-arraigns-emefiele-wednesday-over-naira-redesign.htmlhttps://punchng.com/breaking-efcc-arraigns-emefiele-wednesday-over-naira-redesign/https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/05/efcc-links-emefiele-to-5-firms-in-latest-26-count-charge/https://www.thecable.ng/efcc-links-emefiele-to-5-firms-in-latest-26-count-chargeShareRewrite