Market News

By : Ameh Ochojila

An Abuja High Court has scheduled fresh ten-day trial to address the corruption charges against the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, over Naira redesign.

Justice Maryann Anenih set the trial dates on Wednesday, following an agreement between the counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, and Emefiele’s lawyer, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, SAN. The trial is set to take place on February 3 and 10, April 1 and 2, and May 11, 12, 13, and 14, along with June 9 and 10, with the expectation that it will conclude during this period. Justice Anenih urged both parties’ attorneys to adhere to the scheduled dates and assured them that the court would accommodate their needs appropriately.

During Wednesday’s proceedings, a witness from the EFCC, Mr. Emere Chinedu, an operative, confirmed that the Presidency under President Muhammadu Buhari had issued a letter to the EFCC approving Emefiele’s plan to redesign the Naira notes. However, he stated that the letter specified that the new notes should be printed in Nigeria, rather than abroad, as had been done by the former CBN governor. Chinedu, who led the Inter-Agency Probe Panel investigating Emefiele, revealed that the former governor made six separate extrajudicial statements to present his defence between October 26 and November 2, 2023.

“In the course of our investigation, we sought records of the approval for the Naira redesign from the State House. The State House communicated in writing that they approved the Naira redesign, with the stipulation that it must be done locally,” the witness stated. During cross-examination by Emefiele’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo SAN, Chinedu denied Emefiele’s claim that Abdulrasheed Bawa, a former Executive Chairman of the EFCC, was the first to suggest the Naira redesign to President Buhari. Instead, he asserted that the EFCC does not have the authority to propose changes to the Naira’s design, noting that any such action must be advisory.

Chinedu acknowledged that the series of video clips showing Nigerians expressing their hardships, which were presented by the EFCC, predated the establishment of his probe panel by the federal government. He explained that his panel downloaded the videos from the internet to illustrate the difficulties that Nigerians experienced during the Naira redesign. He claimed not to know any staff from the television stations that produced the videos and stated that he did not interview anyone from those stations.

Emefiele is facing prosecution in the case marked FTC/HC/CR/264/2024 by the EFCC and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The continuation of the witness’s cross-examination by Emefiele has been rescheduled for February 3 by Justice Maryann Anenih.