Court grant Emefiele bail to the tune of N50m

Godwin Emefiele, the embattled former governor of the Central Bank, was granted bail of N50 million by the Lagos State Special Offences Court on Friday. Emefiele was charged with 26 counts related to alleged abuse of office and irregular allocation of N2.8 billion and $4.5 billion, respectively.

Justice Rahmon Oshodi admitted Emefiele to bail with two sureties in the same amount on Friday.

On Monday, PUNCH Online reported that the Lagos court sent Emefiele back to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Justice Oshodi made the remand order shortly after the anti-graft agency arraigned Emefiele on 26 counts related to “abuse of office, accepting gratifications, corrupt demand, receiving property fraudulently obtained, and conferring corrupt advantage.”

The main thrust of the accusations came from the EFCC, which claimed that he misused his position as governor of the CBN by allegedly allocating N2.8 billion and $4.5 billion.

Oshodi, however, ruled today that the sureties had to be employed for a profit and had paid the Lagos State government’s three-year tax.

In addition, he mandated that the sureties register in the Lagos State Bail Management System and produce valid identification.

The judge emphasised that he was content with the N1 million bail terms that had previously been granted to Mr. Emefiele’s co-defendant, Henry Isioma-Omoil. Judge Olufunke Sule-Hamzat of the Lagos High Court is the judge in charge of Mr. Emefiele’s other case.

Additionally, he insisted that the bail documents need to be moved to the special offences court and registered in the LSBMS.