Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, yesterday, asked the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to foreclose his prosecution in alleged procurement fraud due to the prosecution’s absence in court. 

Emefiele is facing fraud charges before Justice Hamza Muazu, sitting at Maitama, Abuja, in the charge marked CR/577/2023, on an amended 20-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, conferring corrupt advantage, forgery, conspiracy to obtain by false pretence and obtaining money by false pretence while he was CBN governor.

He was alleged to have used his position as CBN governor to award six contracts for the supply of different vehicles to April 1616, in which one Sa’adatu Ramalan Yaro, a member of staff of CBN, is a director and shareholder, between 2018 and 2022, to the tune of N1,210,600,000, among other allegations.

At the resumed hearing of the case yesterday, Emefiele, through his counsel, Mathew Burkaa, urged the court to foreclose the prosecution due to its failure to be represented in court, having known of today’s date since June 27, before the court went on its yearly vacation.

Burkaa told the court that the matter was slated for continuation of the hearing, but the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, was neither in court nor represented by another counsel. 

He added that he was informed by the Registrar of the court through a WhatsApp message that there was a letter of adjournment before the court.

The senior advocate told the court that the application he was shown in the court was sent by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which filed the matter. 

According to him, the charge before the court was brought by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, wondering why EFCC applied for an adjournment of the matter. 

While opposing the application for adjournment, the senior counsel wondered why any of the lawyers involved alongside the prosecutor could not be in court for the matter to go on, despite that the prosecution asked for an accelerated hearing of the case.

He further told the court that Emefiele and his lawyers were coming from Lagos to attend the trial.