Again, Emefiele arraigned, faces fresh charge of spending N18.96bln to print N684.5m new naira notes

A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, was again arraigned on Wednesday for another financial crime — the production of N684.5 million, which cost N18.96 billion during his tenure at the bank.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought the charges against Emefiele before Justice Maryann Anenih of a Federal High Court in Abuja.

Emefiele, who is awaiting trial in several courts, entered a ‘not guilty’ plea to the four charges slammed on him at his arraignment, according to Persecondnews.

Persecondnews recalls that Emefiele had in 2022, ahead of the general elections, printed N200, N500, and N1000 denominations to replace the old notes and gave December 2023 deadline to swap old notes as they will cease to be legal tenders.

It caused a lot of hardships, a cash squeeze, and riots at bank branches across the country, resulting in fatalities.

People had to keep vigil at the banks and spend hours in the queue to get a fixed amount of N5,000 or N10,000 from their accounts, which caused a national outrage.

Some branches of banks were torched in Abeokuta, Sagamu, Ibadan, Benin, Lagos, and Warri, among others, by frustrated customers.

The charges against Emefiele stem from his authorization of the production of N684.5 million, costing N18.96 billion, during his tenure at the CBN.

The EFCC alleged that Emefiele knowingly disregarded legal instructions, causing harm to the public while implementing the naira swap policy under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Additionally, the anti-corruption agency accuses Emefiele of improperly authorizing the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.

Emefiele’s plea of not guilty sets the stage for legal proceedings to address the charges against him.