A FORMER governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been released from Kuje Correctional Centre after his lawyers perfected his bail conditions.
His lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mathew Burkaa, confirmed this to Channels Television.
Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High court had granted him bail in sum of N300 million with two sureties in like sum.
Emefiele was arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on procurement fraud and using his position to confer a corrupt advantage on Sa’adatu Yaro, a staff of CBN, by awarding a contract for the procurement of 43 vehicles worth N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020, on November 18th.
While he was remanded in Kuje, Emefiele was mandated to deposit all his travel documents with the registrar of the court and must remain within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
The trial over his alleged procurement of vehicles has already began before Justice Hamza Muazu.
Emifiele was first taken into custody by the Department of State Services (DSS) in June following his suspension as the CBN governor by President Bola Tinubu.
Confirming the arrest of Emefiele at the time, the DSS spokesperson Peter Afunanya had said, “The Department of State Services (DSS) hereby confirms that Mr Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is now in its custody for some investigative reasons.
“The public, particularly the Media, is enjoined to apply utmost caution in the reportage and narratives concerning this.”
After his arrest, Emefiele had approached the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, challenging his detention by the Department of State Services (DSS).
While delivering ruling on the fundamental human right suit file by Emefiele, Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, had issued a one week ultimatum to DSS to either charge him to Court or set him free.
