FG Seeks To Withdraw Firearms Case Against Emefiele, Files Fresh Charge

The Federal Government has applied to withdraw the “illegal possession of firearms” case it filed against the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, at the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.

Mohammed Abubakar The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Federal Ministry of Justice, told Justice Nicholas Oweibo in an oral application that the application was based on further investigations.

But counsel for Emefiele, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joseph Daudu, opposed the move, saying the government must first purge itself of the disobedience of the court’s order granting Emefiele bail, before its application could be considered.

Justice Oweibo has adjourned till Thursday, August 17, 2023 to rule on the application.

Speaking after Tuesday’s proceedings, the DPP said a fresh 20 counts has been filed at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court against the suspended CBN governor.

According to him, one of the counts accused Emefiele of “conferring unlawful advantages”.

Recall that Pastor Tunde Bakare had on Sunday warned President Bola Tinubu against making the suspended CBN a scapegoat over how he handled the country’s monetary policy.

According to him, Emefiele couldn’t have acted without presidential authorization.

Bakare said, “Mr Godwin Emefiele may have made the wrong judgement calls in the management of Nigeria’s monetary policy, but he must not be made a scapegoat.

“In the provisions of the central bank of Nigeria, CBN Act 2007, there is every possibility that the erstwhile central bank governor did not act without presidential authorization.

“If Emefiele is found liable for any crime, by all means he should be prosecuted. However, considering the dynamics of the pre-election environment and the then candidate Bola Tinubu’s public allegation that the naira redesign policy was targeted at him, the optics of the president targeting Emefiele for prosecution after winning the election and being sworn in as the president could be interpreted as a form of vendetta far beneath such a distinguished office.”