Godwin Emefiele, the immediate former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had his bail conditions changed by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on Thursday as it was in session in Maitama, Abuja.
Emefiele was given N300 million in bail in November, along with two sureties in an equivalent amount, by the court.
Each surety was required by Judge Hamza Muazu to have N300 million worth of landed property within the court’s jurisdiction. The property must be verified by the court registrar, who would also require a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), to be submitted with the surety.
Emefiele was directed to stay in Abuja for the duration of the trial and to submit his travel documents with the court.
But during the hearing on Thursday, Emefiele’s attorney, Matthew Burkaa, SAN, told the court that the defendant had submitted a request on January 10 asking for a change in the bail requirement so that he may travel domestically.
He asked the judge to give his client a different condition.
Instead of opposing the application, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the prosecutor, asked the court to make sure the defendant stays in the nation during the course of his trial.
In addition, he requested that the defense team draft an assurance that their client would stay in the nation.
Justice Muazu approved the motion in his verdict on the application, directing Emefiele to stay in Nigeria while he is on trial.
Oyedepo, in the meantime, told the court that Emefiele’s charges had been changed by the prosecution, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday. He also begged the court to enable the defendant to enter a plea to the new accusation.
Nonetheless, Burkaa informed the court that the defense had received the new charge on Wednesday and required more time to review it.
The court postponed the hearing to January 19 in order to consider the new charge in light of the development.
On November 17, 2023, Emefiele appeared in court on a six-count accusation that included giving a female CBN employee an advantage in violation of Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Act, 2000.
In the accusation designated CR/577/2023, Emefiele was charged with exploiting his authority as CBN governor to grant N1,210,600,000 in six separate contracts to a single CBN employee named Sa’adatu Ramalan Yero between 2018 and 2020.
The aforementioned Sa’adatu Ramalan Yero is a director of the company that received the procurement contracts.
However, Emefiele entered a not guilty plea to the accusation.