Justice minister distances FG from N50b plea bargain with Emefiele
Suspended governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank Godwin Emefiele (R) appears at the Federal Capital Territory High Court over allegations of breach of procurement act and financial fraud in Abuja, Nigeria, on August 17, 2023. (Photo by KOLA SULAIMON / AFP)
Hope of early release of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, might not be in sight as Federal Government, yesterday, distanced itself from a N50b non-prosecution plea bargain with the embattled apex bank boss.
Emefiele was reported to have entered into a plea bargain with government; on the condition he would surrender N50b to facilitate his early release from custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The bargain was also said to be aimed at cancelling his trial over charges of money laundering, breach of the Public Procurement Act, and abuse of office.
Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, however, said there was no iota of truth in the plea bargain deal.
Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said neither his office nor the Presidency reached such agreement with Emefiele.
The position of the Federal Government was contained in a statement by Director of Information in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Modupe Ogundoro.
The statement reads in part: “The attention of the office of the AGF and Minister of Justice has been drawn to a report alleging Emefiele and the Federal Government have agreed to a non-prosecution plea bargain arrangement.
“The office of the AGF and Minister of Justice, hereby, states clearly that these reports are completely false. We wish to advise the media and members of the public to kindly disregard the said false report.”
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