. Despite Being Granted Bail
By Lanre Olaleye
Despite being granted bail by an Abuja Federal High Court, former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele is still in prison.
Emefiele was recently granted bail in the sum of N300m and must provide two sureties, one of whom must own a landed property in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
At yesterday's resumed hearing of the corruption charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the former CBN Governor was escorted to the court by EFCC officials- an indication that he was still in the custody of the anti- corruption operatives.
Findings by The Snoop revealed that the former CBN Governor was yet to perfect one of his bail conditions which is the payment of the sum of N300m.
Emefiele reportedly declined to pay the bail bond. He purportedly questioned where the court expect him to get the money from. "I will rather be jailed than to pay N300m bail conditions," Emefiele was quoted to have said after the court ruled on his bail application by his counsel, Mathew Burkaa (SAN).
His hardline stance came as a surprise to many who felt the embatted former CBN Governor could afford to pay the bail bond judging from the humongous amount of money involved in his corruption charges.
Emefiele had been charged with six modified counts of fraud by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In front of Justice Hamza Muazu, Emefiele was charged as follows: That you, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, male, adult…
1. Corruptly confer an advantage on Sa’adatu Ramallan Yaro, a staff of the CBN, by awarding contract for the supply of 37 Hilux vehicles at cost of ₦854.7m in 2018
2. Corruptly confer an advantage on a company where a CBN Staff is a director by awarding a contract for the supply of one Toyota Avallon at the cost of ₦99.0m
3. Conferring corrupt advantage contrary to Section 16 of ICPC Act Toyota Landcruiser V8 in 2019 at the cost of ₦73.0m
4. Illegal award for the supply of Toyota Land cruiser V8: ₦73.8m
5. Award of contract for supply of 2 Toyota Hilux in 2020: ₦44.2m
6. Illegal purchases of 43 vehicles between 2018 & 2020: ₦1.2bn.
The case was adjourned by the court until January 18, 2024.
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