• Former CBN Gov Granted N50m Bail, Co-defendant, Omoile N1m
Justice Rahman Oshodi of a Lagos Special Offences Court, Ikeja, has granted N50 million bail to the embattled former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, for alleged abuse of office and fraud to the tune of $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion.

The judge while ruling on the bail application yesterday, admitted Emefiele to bail in the sum N50 million with two sureties in like sum.

It would be recalled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had on April 8, this year, arraigned Emefiele and his co-defendant, Henry Isioma Omoile, on a 23-count charge bordering on abuse of office, accepting gratifications, corrupt demand, receiving property fraudulently obtained and conferring corrupt advantage.

Omoile was arraigned on a three-count charge bordering on acceptance of gift by agents.

The judge ordered that the sureties to the accused must be gainfully employed and have evidence of three years tax payment with the Lagos State government.

He also ordered that the sureties must show proper identification and must be registered in the Lagos State Bail Management System.

Justice Oshodi held that the court was satisfied with the bail conditions of N1 million earlier granted to the second defendant, Omoile, who is facing another fraud charge before Justice Olufunke Sule-Hamzat of a Lagos High Court sitting in Yaba.

The judge directed the defendant counsel, Abdulakeem Labi-Lawal, to furnish the court with the bail documents of the sister court.

He ordered that the documents must be transferred to the Special Offences Court and must also be registered in the Lagos State Bail Management System.

During the trial, a CBN staff, Mr. Monday Osazuwa, told the court how Emefiele, on different occasions, directed him to collect the sum of $3 million cash in tranches.

Led-in-evidence by the prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), Osazuwa narrated to the court how he served as a dispatch rider in Zenith Bank and later joined the CBN as well as ran errands for Emefiele.

The witness told the court that he worked with Zenith Bank Plc as a dispatch rider from 2002 to 2014 before joining the CBN.

He said: “I joined the CBN in 2014 as a contract staff and became a staff in 2015. I knew the first defendant from when he was a deputy director of Zenith Bank and he later became director. I have worked with him since then.”

Osasuwa said that he was later appointed as a senior supervisor (full time) in recording and filing of documents while working in the governor’s office in Lagos.

“I was still working in the governor’s office while I was appointed as a full staff and we usually communicate through WhatsApp and email. I perform as a senior supervisor, recording and filing with other official roles,” he added.

He revealed that sometime in 2020, the first defendant sent him on an errand.

“When he called me, he directed that I should call a businessman who gave me $1 million dollars on his behalf. Some weeks later, the first defendant also called me that I should meet the man and he gave me $850,000, $750,000 and $400,000 cash in tranches.”

Osazuwa further confirmed to the court that he knew Dumies Oil and Gas Limited while he was in Zenith Bank Plc. He added that the former CBN governor, who was also the managing director of the company, always sent him to collect cheques from one Mr. Monday.

The witness told the court that he always logged the money into the account of Dumies on the order of Emefiele.

When he was asked of where the second defendant resides, he responded that
he lived in the residence of the former CBN governor.

He added: “Whenever I receive the money and take it to the residence of Mr. Emefiele, he always tells me to give it to the second defendant whenever he is not at home.

“I did not keep record of transactions because the instruction he gave me was that I should collect the money and bring the money to his house. The highest amount I collected is $1 million, all in cash.

“He has never for one day said ‘take this’. I have never been rewarded, paid or given anything because I am doing it out of faithfulness and he knows I am faithful to him.”

While being cross-examined by the defendants’ counsel, Mr. Abdulakeem Labi-Lawal, the witness confirmed to the court that he had been working with the defendant since 2002 but he could not say the precise years or months he had been seeing the second defendant.

Osazuwa said he was sure that Omoile had been living in Emefiele’s house for some months.

He affirmed that Emefiele passed instructions to him through the second defendant and that he had been collecting cheques for Dumies Oil and Gas.

“I started collecting cheques for Dummies Oil and Gas when I was in Zenith Bank. I cannot calculate the exact year I have been collecting the cheques but it all started when the first defendant was the MD at Zenith Bank and I was working at Zenith Bank Plc,” he said.

The witness told the court that when he was made to confront the second defendant during investigation, the second defendant didn’t admit that instruction was passed through him.

Before the trial, the judge refused the defendant counsel’s request for adjournment twice.

Justice Rahman ruled that he could not continue in a cycle, saying there must be an end to submission.

He ruled that the request for adjournment was unjustified, as the defendant counsel had not objected to the accelerated hearing request by the prosecution.

Justice Oshodi subsequently adjourned the case to April 29 for trial and hearing of application for closed-session for some of the prosecution witnesses.