Nigeria’s High Court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria, has ordered that the ex-Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, who is standing trial on procurement fraud, be remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of his bail request.
The trial which had been stalled on three occasions finally held on Friday.
Nigerian government had initially preferred 20 charge on procurement fraud to the tune of N6.5 billion against the former CBN governor.
But the government reduced the charges to six to the tune of over N1bn which he was arraigned on Friday.
At Friday proceedings, Emefiele’s counsel, Mathew Burkaa SAN, moved the application for bail but the government counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo vehemently opposed granting bail to the former CBN governor.
The presiding judge, Justice Hamza Muazu said a bench ruling could not be delivered in view of the plethora of authorities cited by the two parties.
The Judge said he needed a little time to study the authorities and peruse through the exhibits supplied by Emefiele to support his request for bail.
He, however, ordered that Emefiele be remanded at the Kuje prison pending the determination of his bail application.
Muazu then adjourned the case till November 22 for ruling on the bail application and November 28 for the commencement of trial.