The Federal Government has formally applied to retract the charge of illegal possession of firearms it filed against Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The comes after the judge had on July 25, admitted Emefiele to a N20million bail on a two-count charge of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and ordered his remand at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, pending the fulfilment of his bail conditions.
But the Department of State Services (DSS) rearrested him after a clash with prison officials.
However, on Tuesday, The federal government, through the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abubakar Mohammed made an oral application to withdraw the charge.
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Abubakar told the judge, Nicholas Oweibo, that the application for withdrawal was based on the result of more investigations conducted by the government.
However, Joseph Daudu (SAN), the defense counsel representing Emefiele, opposed him, arguing that because the government was in disobedience of the court’s order granting Emefiele bail, its application could not be taken.
Abubakar disclosed to reporters after the proceedings that new charges had been lodged at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court. One of the new counts against Emefiele alleges “conferring unlawful advantages.”
The sequence of events leading up to these developments began on June 9 when Emefiele was suspended by Tinubu, leading to an investigation into allegations leveled against him. In the course of this inquiry, a Special Investigator was appointed by Tinubu to examine matters concerning the CBN.
Amid these developments, the CBN disclosed its audited financial statement, revealing that it owed JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs a combined total of $7.5 billion by the conclusion of the financial year in December 2022.