The Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has gone to the Kuje Maximum Security Prison in Abuja to visit former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele
The source gathered that the Ooni was at Kuje prison twice on Tuesday, December 5, ostensibly to visit Emefiele. The monarch had visited the facility in the afternoon and also returned to the correctional centre some hours later.
It was gathered that on both occasions, the monarch had long discussions with the embattled former CBN governor.
Following the discussions, the monarch called for the release of Emefiele, who is still behind bars due to his inability to meet the terms of the N300 million bail imposed on him by a court.
Emefiele was dragged to court on a six-count charge bordering on procurement fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was accused of using his position to confer a corrupt advantage on Sa’adatu Yaro, a staff of CBN, by awarding a contract for the procurement of 43 vehicles worth N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020.
It would be recalled that Emefiele had earlier been arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS) for over four months before he was picked up by the anti-graft agency.
Emefiele had pleaded not guilty to the amended charges and was later granted bail in the sum of N300 million as well as two sureties in like sum, both of which must have certificates of occupancy and titles of properties within the Maitama district in Abuja.
He was also mandated to deposit all his travel documents with the Registrar of the Court with a warning to remain within the Abuja Municipal Council. The former CBN governor was unable to meet the bail conditions and is remanded in Kuje Correctional Facility until 2024
