An Abuja High Court has fixed a 10-day trial window to conclude the corruption case against former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, over the controversial naira redesign policy
Gatekeepers News reports that Justice Maryann Anenih set the dates on Wednesday after an agreement between counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, and Emefiele’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, SAN.
The trial will hold on February 3 and 10; April 1 and 2; May 11, 12, 13 and 14; as well as June 9 and 10, with the court expressing confidence that the matter would be concluded within the period.
Justice Anenih urged both parties to strictly adhere to the schedule, assuring them that the court would “make the necessary accommodations” to ensure the trial is completed on time.
Presidency Approved Redesign, Witness Says
During proceedings, an EFCC witness, Emere Chinedu, an operative and leader of the Inter-Agency Probe Panel that investigated Emefiele, told the court that the Presidency under former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the naira redesign.
However, he said the approval came with a condition that the new notes must be printed within Nigeria, not abroad.
“In the course of our investigation, we sought records of the approval for the naira redesign from the State House. The State House communicated in writing that they approved the naira redesign, with the stipulation that it must be done locally,” Chinedu said.
He also disclosed that Emefiele made six separate extrajudicial statements between October 26 and November 2, 2023, in his defence during the investigation.
EFCC Denies Bawa’s Involvement
Under cross-examination by Ojo, SAN, the witness denied Emefiele’s claim that former EFCC chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa first suggested the naira redesign to President Buhari.
According to Chinedu, the EFCC lacks the power to initiate such policy changes, stressing that any role it could play would only be advisory.
Videos Were Downloaded Online
Chinedu further admitted that video clips showing Nigerians complaining about hardship during the redesign were sourced from the internet and predated the probe panel.
He said the videos were used to demonstrate the public impact of the policy and that he neither knew the television stations that produced them nor interviewed anyone connected to the clips.
Emefiele is being tried in the case marked FTC/HC/CR/264/2024 and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The court fixed February 3 for the continuation of his cross-examination.
