Court Grants Emefiele N20m Bail After 6-Weeks In Custody 

Court has granted the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, bail in the sum of N20 million with one surety in the same amount by the Federal High Court in Lagos.

After hearing his attorney, Joseph Daudu (SAN), Emefiele was granted bail by Justice Nicholas Oweibo.

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According to the court, the surety must be the owner of a landed property within the court’s jurisdiction and must be at least Level 16 in the Nigerian Civil Service.

Emefiele must also surrender his international passport to the court.

Justice Oweibo rejected the Federal Government’s argument that Emefiele was a flight risk, stating that the government had failed to provide sufficient evidence.

Emefiele was suspended as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria on June 9, 2023, just one day after the Department of State Services (DSS) reported that he was in their custody.

Emefiele was hauled to court by DSS operatives on Tuesday, following multiple legal battles by Emefiele’s counsel who opposed his protracted arrest by the DSS.

Emefiele appeared before Justice Oweibo and pleaded not guilty to the Federal Government’s two counts of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

His lawyer, Daudu, requested the court in his pleadings to grant bail on self-recognizance or on other generous terms, until the hearing and determination of the trial.

Nkiru Jones-Nebo, lawyer for the Federal Government, however, opposed the bail application.

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The court, however, overruled the Federal Government, ordering that Emefiele be held at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending the completion of his bail, as opposed to the prosecution’s request that the defendant be remanded in DSS custody for further investigation on another matter that may soon be filed in court.

The trial is scheduled for November 14, 2023.