The suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, was present in court for his arraignment on alleged N6.9 billion fra¥d, but the judge had to reschedule his arraignment.
According to Premium Times, the absence of a co-defendant stalled the scheduled arraignment of Emefiele, on charges of procurement fra¥d at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja on Thursday, August 17, 2023.
Although represented by her lawyer, the co-defendant, Sa’adatu Ramalan-Yaro, was said to be absent from court because of #ll health. Mr Emefiele was, however, present, and appeared set for arraignment in a case involving 20 counts of conspiracy and procurement fra¥d.
The case came up before a judge of the Maitama Division of the FCT High Court, Hamzat Muazu.
After the suspended CBN governor mounted the defendant’s box, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mohammed Abubakar, informed the court that Mrs Ramallan-Yaro “is indisposed to be in court”. He said he was informed of the woman’s condition on Thursday morning.
Mr Abubakar asked for an adjournment to enable the prosecution to present the defendants for arraignment.
Responding to the request for an adjournment, Mr Emefiele’s lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), requested to have a brief audience with Mr Emefiele, which was not opposed by the DPP.
“I must commend the DPP for his professional handling of this matter so far,” Mr Kehinde told the judge.
Mrs Ramalan-Yaro’s lawyer, Abdulhakeem Labi-Lawal, also consented to the request for an adjournment. He, however, informed the court of a pending bail application for Mrs Ramalan-Yaro.
The judge said the bail application would be taken after the defendants’ arraignment.
The court adjourned the suit until 23 August for arraignment.
j
Click to watch
