JUST IN : FG arraigns Emefiele on 6 counts of alleged N1.6bn procurement fraud

Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has been arraigned on six counts related to suspected procurement by the federal government.

Twenty counts totaling N6.5 billion have been reduced to six counts totaling N1.6 billion. According to Channels TV, Emefiele is the lone accused party in the current case.

After hearing the six-count indictment read against him, the ex-CBN governor appeared in court today to apply for bail.

A closer look at the updated charge sheet reveals that the allegations are still on the cusp of procurement fraud.

According to the updated charge sheet, the federal government believes that Emefiele spent N1.2 billion on 43 fraudulently purchased automobiles between 2018 and 2020.

He was accused of awarding a N854 million contract to purchase 37 Toyota Hilux vehicles.

It is alleged in Count One that “you, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, male, adult, sometime in 2018 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did use your position as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to confer a corrupt advantage on Sa’adatu Ramallan Yaro, a staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria by awarding a contract for the supply of 37 Toyota Hilux Vehicles at the cost of N854,700,000 only to April1616 Investment Ltd

In the second count, Emefiele is accused of committing an offence by corruptly benefiting Yaro, “a staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria by awarding a contract for the supply of one Toyota Avalon at the cost of N99,900,000 only to April1616 Investment Ltd, a company in which the said Sa’adatu Ramallan Yaro Director and thereby committed an offence.”

It was also claimed that he gave April1616 Investment Ltd. an improper advantage by awarding them a contract to deliver one Toyota Landcruiser V8 in 2019 for the sum of N73 million, in violation of Section 19 of the Corrupt Practises and Other Related Offences Act of 2000.

The fourth count involved an illegally granted N73,800,000 award for a Toyota Landcruiser V8 to April 1616 Investment Ltd.

According to federal prosecutors, ex-CBN governor awarded  Yaro  a contract to provide two Toyota Hilux Shell Specification Vehicles in 2020 at a cost of N44,200,000.