From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The scheduled arraignment of the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, on charges of alleged N6.9 billion procurement fraud was, yesterday, stalled at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, due to the absence of his co-defendant.
Although Emefiele was brought to court by operatives of the Department of State Security Services (DSS), his co-defendant, Sa’adatu Ramalan-Yaro, was said to be absent from court because of ill health.
The suspended CBN governor was already in the dock and set for his arraignment when the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mohammed Abubakar, informed the court that Mrs Ramallan-Yaro “is indisposed to be in court”. He added that he was only informed of the woman’s condition yesterday morning.
Consequently, the prosecution counsel asked for an adjournment to enable the prosecution to present the defendants for arraignment.
In his response to the request by the prosecution, counsel to Emefiele, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), requested to have a brief audience with his client, which was not opposed by the DPP.
“I must commend the DPP for his professional handling of this matter so far,” Mr Kehinde told the judge.
On his part, Mrs Ramalan-Yaro’s counsel, Abdulhakeem Labi-Lawal, also consented to the request for an adjournment. Labi-Lawal, however, informed the court of a pending bail application for Mrs Ramalan-Yaro.
In his short ruling, Justice Hamza Muazu said the bail application would be taken after the defendants’ arraignment. He, accordingly, adjourned the suit until 23 August for arraignment.
Meanwhile, a mild drama played out inside the courtroom when Emefiele, who was smuggled into court by operatives of the DSS, was busy evading the cameras with the support of the security operatives and some lawyers.
Photo journalists had a hectic day in court in their efforts to capture him with their cameras.
In the fresh charge, Emefiele was charged alongside Mrs Ramalan-Yaro, and her company, April 1616 Investment Limited, on allegations of conspiracy and procurement fraud involving as much as N6.9 billion.
The charges alleged that Mr Emefiele conferred corrupt advantages on Ms Ramalan-Yaro, using her firm, April 1616 Investment Limited. The government alleged that the defendants perpetrated procurement fraud through the award of contracts to Mrs Ramalan-Yaro’s company for the supply of cars.
Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, under which he was charged, provides a five-year jail sentence upon conviction.