The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has been granted bail.
Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, ordered that Emefiele be immediately released to his lawyers.
The judge said Emefiele’s lawyers not the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is charged with the responsibility of producing him in court for his arraignment at the court on November 15.
He added that there must be an end to detention, without trial.
The judge also asked the former CBN governor to deposit his travel documents before the chief registrar of the court, pending his arraignment.
Emefiele’s travails started on June 9, 2023, when President Bola Tinubu suspended him.
Following his suspension, the Department of State Services (DSS), announced that he was in its custody for “some investigative reasons.”
Following his arrest by the DSS, the legal action against the embattled former CBN boss started on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, when DSS operatives brought him to a Lagos court in a hilux vehicle.
While appearing before Justice Nicholas Oweibo, in July, Emefiele pleaded “not guilty” to the two counts of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition filed against him by the Federal Government.
In October, the DSS released the former CBN chief after withdrawing its charges against him, but immediately he regained his freedom, the EFCC operatives picked him up.
Since then, Emefiele has been in detention until Justice Adeniyi ordered the EFCC to either release him or bring him to court for bail proceedings during the resumed hearing of his case on Monday.
Considering the fact that Emefiele has spent 151 days in detention, the judge while granting him bail said the Federal Government and the anti-graft agency must abide by the order.
Source: Pulse .ng