The Federal Government has withdrawn the fire arms possession charge filed against Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the CBN.
The FG on Tuesday withdrew the charges and unveiled fresh 20-count charges against him.
The FG filed the fresh charges before the Abuja division of the federal high court.
Background
In a series of developments, Godwin Emefiele, the suspended CBN governor, faced a rollercoaster of events.
After his suspension in June 2023 and subsequent arrest by the DSS, he filed a rights enforcement suit.
The legal proceedings highlighted his right to fair hearing and questioned the validity of his detention without charges.
The court gave the DSS a one-week ultimatum to charge him or release him. In the midst of this, Emefiele was granted bail of N20 million by the Federal High Court in Ikoyi.
However, he was re-arrested by the DSS following a physical altercation with officials from the Nigerian Correctional Service.
This twist of events was followed by the DSS discreetly seeking a 14-day extension of Emefiele’s detention, which was rejected by the Abuja High Court in Maitama.
Justice Hamza Muazu’s ruling upheld due process and halted any further extension of Emefiele’s custody.
The Jurist had earlier reported that the Lagos federal court schedule August 15 to hear Emefiele’s application restraining Federal Governments’ prosecution.
What happened in court today
On Tuesday, the FG brought new charges against Emefiele, following further investigations into the matter.
At the federal high court in Ikoyi, Mohammed Bakodo Abubakar, the Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, made an oral request for the withdrawal of the previous firearms possession charge.
Abubakar revealed that a set of 20 new charges has been officially submitted against Emefiele, One of the counts accuses Emefiele of “conferring unlawful advantages”.
However, the defense counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), countered his submission and said the FG’s application should not be considered due to its disobedience of the court’s bail order for Emefiele.
Abubakar told journalist after today’s proceeding that the charges are before the Federal High Court in Abuja.