In order to respond to 20 more counts of conspiracy and procurement fraud, Mr. Emefiele, who has been in the care of the State Security Service (SSS) since June 10, is scheduled to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja. He was charged along with Sa’adatu Yaro, a member of the CBN staff, and her business, April 1616 Investment Limited. The government claims that Mr. Emefiele gave Ms. Yaro improper advantages by awarding her company contracts for the supply of cars worth up to N99.9 million. The alleged transactions, according to court documents, happened between 2018 and 2020. He was accused under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, which carries a five-year prison penalty if found guilty.
“Any public officer who uses his office or position to gratify or confer any corrupt or unfair advantage upon himself, any relation or associate of the public officer, or any other public officer, shall be guilty of an offence and shall, upon conviction, be liable to imprisonment for five years without the option of fine,” according to the law. The accusations stated that Mr. Emefiele and Ms. Yaro had spent nearly N6.9 billion on a fleet of about 100 upscale cars and armored buses. The SSS issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Emefiele in December 2022 before the Federal High Court in Abuja, where it accused him of heinous financial and terrorism-related offences.
The court, however, refused to grant the motion, noting the service’s failure to present any supporting documentation. However, a new round of accusations showed that the cars bought between 2018 and 2020 were 84 Toyota Hilux vehicles, 10 armored Mercedes Benz buses, three Toyota Landcruisers, and one Toyota Avalon. Since then, Mr. Emefiele has been under the SSS’s care. He is still being held in custody together with Mrs. Yaro, his co-defendant in the new case, who was also taken into custody on July 12 along with her husband, Aminu Yaro. Through its DPP, Mr. Mohammed, the Federal Ministry of Justice, which appears to have now taken over the prosecution of the temporarily suspended central bank president from the SSS, tried to have the guns charges dropped on Tuesday.
In response to legal arguments, the DPP stated that his request was made in accordance with section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015, which gives prosecutors the authority to drop charges against a person at any time and without a formal written request. The trial judge then put off making a decision on the DPP’s motion until Thursday. Coincidentally, Mr. Emefiele is expected to be arraigned in Abuja on new accusations of procurement fraud on the same day.
