Emefiele asks for court’s permission to travel abroad

Emefiele seeks court’s permission to travel abroad

A former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, has requested permission from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, where he is facing corruption charges, to travel abroad for a medical check-up.

Mr Emefiele’s lawyer, Mathew Burkaa, drew the trial judge’s attention to the pending application at Tuesday’s proceedings.

The defence lawyer, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), did not provide details of the destination of the intended medical trip or his client’s ailment.

The trial judge, Hamza Mu’azu, had ordered the seizure of Mr Emefiele’s passport as part of his bail conditions.

The defendant seeks in his application the release of his passport to enable him to embark on the foreign trip.

Mr Mu’azu fixed 8 July for the hearing of the defendant’s application.

The prosecuting agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has yet to comment on the application. The agency can oppose or support the application. It can also choose to be indifferent.

In the case, EFCC charged Mr Emefiele with 20 amended counts of conferment of corrupt advantages, conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and obtaining about $6.23 million by false pretence.

Mr Emefiele, governor of the CBN for nearly a decade, faces corruption charges in separate trials in Abuja and Lagos instituted against him after President Bola Tinubu removed him from office last June.

Trial continues

Meanwhile, the former CBN governor’s $6.23 million corruption trial continued on Tuesday, with the EFCC calling two more prosecution witnesses.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the seventh prosecution witness, Michael Agboro, on Monday, insisted that Mr Emefiele, as CBN governor, awarded contracts to companies belonging to his wife and a brother-in-law.

The prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, a SAN, presented the eighth and the ninth prosecution witnesses at Tuesday’s proceedings.

Umar Abba Tilde, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, testified as the eighth prosecution witness.

The ninth prosecution witness was Abibiya Ockiya-Ogeleye, a lawyer with A&A Legal Consociate, which offered legal services to Architekun Nigeria Limited, a contractor company for CBN. EFCC said the company is owned by the former CBN governor’s wife, Margaret Emefiele, and her brother, Jonathan Omoile.

Eighth prosecution witness testifies

In his testimony, Mr Tilde identified Mr Emefiele’s statement of account and certificate of identification. The banks sent the documents to EFCC upon request in July 2023.

Upon accepting the documents, the court marked them Exhibits ED1, ED2 and ED3.

Mr Tilde disclosed in his testimony that Mr Emefiele authorised the transfer of N4 million to Architekun Nigeria Limited.

He also said the former CBN governor had 10 bank accounts with Zenith Bank.

He listed the Zenith Bank accounts as 2020000064, 5370000045, 5160000523, 5400000128, 5380056733, 1020000098, 5070019307, 20200000064, 2010001617 and 9013054534.

According to the witness, these are salaries, investments and savings accounts.

Ninth prosecution witness’ testimony

The ninth prosecution witness, Ms Ockiya-Ogeleye, also testified that her firm rendered legal services to Architekun Nigeria Limited.

“We rendered incorporation matters with CAC for the company, filed their annual reports, and changed the directors and shareholders of the company. Sometime in 2021, one Madam Esther Omoile called and asked me to add her as a company director,” she said.

She said she added Esther Oyeladun to the list of directors as instructed.

The witness added: “The transfer of shareholders was in Pages 5 and 6. The shares of Omoile Lakunbo were transferred to Omoile Margaret.

“The shares are 90,000 ordinary shares, and the date was 4 March, 2020. Lakunbo also transferred 100,000 shares to Esther. Three directors in the company during registration with CAC are Omoile Lakunbo, Omoile Margaret and Esther Oyeladun.”

The judge, Mr Mu’azu, adjourned the matter till 21 October. He fixed 22 and 23 October for the continuation of the trial.

Charges

The prosecution charged Mr Emefiele with 20 counts of criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to obtain by false pretence, and obtaining money by false pretence when he served as the CBN governor.

It also alleged that the former CBN governor forged a document titled: Re: Presidential Directive on Foreign Election Observer Missions dated 26 January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/201, which he allegedly claimed to be from the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

EFCC accused him of using his office as CBN governor to confer unfair and corrupt advantages on two companies – April 1616 Nigeria Ltd and Architekon Nigeria Ltd.