Emefiele Asks Court To End Prosecution In fraud Trial

Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday urged an Abuja High Court to bring his trial to an end over the prosecution’s repeated absence in court.

Emefiele is standing trial before Justice Hamza Muazu on an amended 20-count charge filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation. The charges border on criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy, and procurement fraud involving contracts worth over ₦1.2 billion during his tenure as CBN governor. He has pleaded not guilty.

The federal government accused him of using his position between 2018 and 2022 to award multiple vehicle supply contracts to April 1616 Investment, a company linked to a CBN staff member, Sa’adatu Ramalan Yaro.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Emefiele’s counsel, Mathew Burkaa (SAN), asked the court to foreclose the prosecution for failing to appear. He told the court that despite knowing the adjourned date, prosecuting counsel Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) neither showed up nor sent a representative.

Burkaa disclosed that he only learned through a WhatsApp message from the court registrar that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had sought an adjournment. He argued that the EFCC was not the filing authority in the matter, which was instituted by the Attorney-General’s office, and questioned why no lawyer from the prosecution team was available.

He further opposed the adjournment request, stressing that the prosecution had earlier demanded accelerated hearing while his client and legal team had to travel from Lagos to attend the proceedings.

Justice Muazu, however, declined to terminate the case immediately. He granted the prosecution what he described as one final opportunity to appear, warning that the court would take necessary action if they failed to show up at the next sitting.

The case was adjourned to October 22 for continuation of hearing.