Court remands Emefiele in custody for alleged abuse of office

former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele is to be remanded in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) pending his bail application.

A Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State gave the order on Monday for him to be remanded till Thursday following his arraignment for alleged abuse of office.

Justice Raheem Oshodi who gave the order, also ordered that Emefiele’s co-defendant in the 26-count charge against them, Henry Omoile, be remanded at the Kirikiri Prison pending the court’s ruling on his bail application also on Thursday.

Justice Oshodi gave the verdict on both men after listening to the bail applications filed by their counsel, AbdulHakeem Labi-Lawal.

Labi-Lawal had earlier asked the court to grant Emefiele bail on self recognition pending the hearing and determination of the case or on the most liberal bail terms.

READ ALSO:Emefiele: Documents used to pay 2023 election observers $6.2m forged – Boss Mustapha

The counsel also asked the court to grant the second defendant bail on the most liberal terms.

Emefiele’s lawyer further urged the court to impose the same bail conditions earlier granted to the accused by Justice Hamzat Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja which said he should be released to his lawyers pending the perfection of the bail terms.

The EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), who did not oppose the bail request, however, asked the court to exercise its discretion in the grant of bail by imposing conditions that would compel the defendants to appear in court for their trial at the next sitting.

Emefiele and Omoile were arraigned on charges of accepting gratification, accepting gifts through agents, corruption, and fraudulent property receipts.

The former CBN Governor is also accused of conferring a corrupt advantage on his associates during his time in office, contrary to the Corrupt Practices Act of 2000 in the charge filed on April 3 by the EFCC.

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