On Thursday, a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, modified the bail conditions previously granted to Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. In November, the court had initially granted Emefiele bail set at N300 million with two sureties, each having a value of N300 million in landed property within the court’s jurisdiction. The sureties were also required to provide a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for verification by the court registrar.
As part of the bail conditions, Emefiele was directed to surrender his travel documents and remain in Abuja throughout the trial period. However, during the recent proceedings, Emefiele’s counsel, Matthew Burkaa, SAN, informed the court that the defendant had filed a motion on January 10, seeking a modification of the bail conditions to allow him to travel within the country. Burkaa requested the court to consider altering the conditions for his client.
The prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, did not object to the application but urged the court to ensure that Emefiele stayed within the country during the trial. Oyedepo also requested that the defense team provide an undertaking confirming their client’s commitment to remaining in the country.
In response, Justice Hamza Muazu granted the request, ordering that Emefiele must stay within Nigeria throughout the trial. Meanwhile, Oyedepo informed the court that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed an amended charge against Emefiele, and he suggested that the defendant be allowed to plead to the new charge.
However, Burkaa explained that the defense had received the new charge on Wednesday and needed time to review it. Consequently, the court adjourned the proceedings until January 19 to allow Emefiele to enter a plea for the amended charge.
Emefiele had been arraigned before the court on November 17, 2023, facing a six-count charge related to allegedly conferring advantages on a female staff member of the CBN. The charges, marked CR/577/2023, accused Emefiele of using his position as CBN governor to award contracts totaling N1,210,600,000 to Sa’adatu Ramalan Yero, a CBN staff member, between 2018 and 2020. The procurement contracts were awarded to a company in which Yero is a director, and Emefiele pleaded not guilty to the charges.