May 15, (THEWILL)- Former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has again maintained his innocence before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, over allegations bothering on unlawful printing of the redesigned Naira banknotes.
The Federal Government, through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had in a fresh four-count charge filed before Justice Maryann Anenih, alleged that Emefiele, acting in violation of law and “with intent to cause injury to the public”, printed the new naira notes without the approval of the former President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the board of the CBN.
It also accused Emefiele of unlawfully approving the withdrawal of about N124.8 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
The charges filed by EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), alongside eight other lawyers acting on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation on April 2, 2024, read: “That you, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, between the 19th day of October 2022 and 5th March 2023 in Abuja, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007, by approving the printing of N375,520,000.00 pieces of colour swapped N1,000, at the total cost of N11,052,068,062 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.
“That you, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, between the 19th of October 2022 and 5th of March 2023 in Abuja, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 19 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, by approving the printing of 172,000,000 pieces of colour swapped N500 (Five Hundred Naira) Notes, at the total cost of N4,471,066,040 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.
“That you, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, between the 19th day of October 2022 and 5th March 2023 in Abuja, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 19 of the CBN Act, 2007, by approving the printing of 137,070,000 pieces of colour-swapped N200 (Two Hundred Naira) Note at the total cost of N3,441,005,280 without the recommendation of the Board of Central Bank and the strict approval of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.
“That you, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, on or about the 7th day of October 2020, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, knowingly disobeyed the direction of Section 80 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended), by approving the withdrawal of the total sum of N124,860,227,865.16 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation in a manner not prescribed by the National Assembly, which conduct of yours caused injury to the public and you thereby committed an offence.”
THEWILL recalls that former President Muhammadu Buhari had on different occasions explained the reasons for the redesign of Naira banknotes as well as his approval for the printing.
Speaking at the launch of the redesigned banknotes on November 23, 2022, former President Buhari explained in detail the basis for his approval to the CBN to redesign the ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1000 banknotes.
‘‘The new Naira banknotes have been fortified with security features that make them difficult to counterfeit,” he said, adding that the new banknotes would help the Central Bank design and implement better monetary policy objectives as well as enrich the collective memory of Nigeria’s heritage.
The former President had commended Emefiele and his deputies as well as the Managing Director, Executive Directors and Staff of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting PLC “for working tirelessly with the apex bank to make the currency redesign a reality.
“As is known, our local laws – specifically the Central Bank of Nigeria Act of 2007 – grant the Central Bank of Nigeria the power to issue and redesign the Naira.
‘‘There was an urgent need to take control of currency in circulation and to address the hoarding of Naira banknotes outside the banking system, the shortage of clean and fit banknotes in circulation, and the increase in counterfeiting of high-denomination Naira banknotes. It is on this basis that I gave my approval for the redesign of the ₦200, ₦500 and ₦1000 banknotes.
‘‘While this may not be apparent to many Nigerians, only 4 out of the 54 African countries print their currencies in their countries, and Nigeria is one. Hence, a majority of African countries print their currencies abroad and import them the way we import other goods.
“That is why it is with immense pride that I announce to you that these redesigned currencies are locally produced right here in Nigeria by our Security Printing and Minting PLC.”
In a memoir titled “Working With Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015 – 2023)”, Femi Adesina, former Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, had quoted his principal as saying the Naira redesign policy helped the country achieve a clean general election in 2023.
According to the former President, those who had a problem with the policy were individuals who had too much money.
“The scarcity of money was not deliberately done to punish Nigerians. Democracy allows people to express their will, and we do not attempt to control them. People understood the implications of their choices, and we did not force them.
“My state, Katsina, showed the beauty of the whole system. In the Presidential poll, APC lost, but they came back to win the governorship. Maybe they took things for granted earlier because it was my state, and they thought they would win easily. People do not like being taken for granted.
“I met Enefiele in office when I came, and unless there was firm evidence against him, it would be unfair and an act of injustice to remove him, acting on hearsay. If you punish a man unjustly, it could dog his footsteps throughout life, so if you would punish, you must have evidence and you should know that you wouldn’t be there forever. You would leave one day.
“I’m very conscious about the morale of people who serve with me. I also expect whoever succeeds me to be fair to me. I have family, and friends, who will feel it. I’m very conscious of fairness.
“There is no denying that the naira redesign policy gave us cleaner elections. It was people who had too much money that had problems with it,” Buhari said in the 12th chapter of the book.
However, taking his plea before Justice Maryann Anenih on Wednesday, Emefiele maintained his innocence while pleading not guilty to all the allegations.
Moving his application for bail, his counsel, Mahmud Magaji, asked the court to grant the former apex bank chief bail on self-recognition and the same grounds and conditions of bail already granted him by a sister court led by Justice Hamza Muazu. He added that Emefiele would always be present in court to face trial.
Granting the application, Justice Anenih admitted Emefiele to N300 million bail with two sureties who must each possess titled property within the Maitama area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Justice Anenih ordered the defendant to deposit his travel documents with the court and should not travel outside the country without the permission of the court.
The judge adopted the conditions attached to a similar bail earlier granted Emefiele by Justice Hamza Muazu (another judge of the High Court of the FCT).
While the trial of the case has been adjourned till May 28, Justice Anenih said it would suffice if Emefiele was able to produce the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the documents he submitted in fulfilment of the bail earlier granted by Justice Muazu.
Wednesday’s arraignment brought to three the number of charges filed against Emefiele by the President Tinubu-led administration.
The EFCC had on November 17, 2023, arraigned Emefiele before Justice Hamza Muazu on a six-count charge of procurement fraud to which he pleaded not guilty. He was also accused of abusing his office by approving a contract for the acquisition of 43 vehicles totalling N1.2 billion from 2018 to 2020.
On April 8, 2024, the EFCC arraigned the former apex bank chief alongside one Henry Omoile before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos over alleged $4.5bn and N2.8bn fraud. He had also pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The new charge, dated April 2, 2024, was filed by the EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), alongside eight other lawyers acting on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation.
