Emefiele Walks Out of Jail After Meeting Bail Terms
Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele has finally secured his release from the Kuje Correctional Centre after meeting his bail conditions.
Emefiele’s freedom was confirmed on Friday, December 22, 2023, by the spokesperson of the Kuje Correctional Centre, FCT, Adamu Duza, who told our correspondent, “He (Emefiele) has met his bail conditions, hence he has no reason to remain in our facility. He met his bail condition and was released past 2 pm yesterday (Friday).”
Emefiele was granted bail of N300 million by the Federal Capital Territory High Court Abuja over alleged procurement fraud. The bail was approved by Justice Hamza Muazu, who ordered two sureties in like sum and demanded the sureties to have certificates of occupancy and titles of properties within the Maitama District of Abuja.
Emefiele was also instructed to surrender all his travel documents to the registrar of the court and stay within the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
However, Emefiele was not allowed to leave the Kuje Correctional Centre until he fulfilled the bail terms, which involved meeting the required sureties and presenting the necessary documents.
Emefiele is facing trial on six counts of procurement fraud totaling N1.2 billion. The bail was granted after the judge dismissed the arguments of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that Emefiele could flee the country or tamper with the investigation if released.
The EFCC had launched a four-month probe into the CBN, led by the Special Investigator Jim Obazee, who uncovered alleged financial misdeeds by Emefiele. Obazee’s report, submitted to President Bola Tinubu on December 9, 2023, exposed several financial anomalies, including fraudulent cash withdrawals, fraud in the naira redesign, and the alleged stashing of 543.4 million pounds in the United Kingdom.
