The immediate-past Central Bank of Nigeria CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele has been released from the Kuje Custodial Centre, Abuja.
Emefiele was said to have regained his freedom on Friday afternoon after his lawyers were able to perfect his bail.
The spokesperson for the Kuje Correctional Centre, FCT, Adamu Duza, verified the development to our correspondent, stating, “I can confirm to you that he (Emefiele) has met his bail conditions, hence he has no reason to remain in our facility. He met his bail condition and was released past 2 pm yesterday (Friday).”
The Federal Capital Territory High Court Abuja had granted Emefiele bail of N300 million over alleged procurement fraud. Justice Hamza Muazu granted the bail, stipulating two sureties in like sum and requiring the sureties to possess certificates of occupancy and titles of properties within the Maitama District of Abuja.
Additionally, Emefiele was directed to deposit all his travel documents with the registrar of the court and remain within the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
Despite granting bail, Justice Muazu ordered Emefiele to stay in Kuje Correctional Centre until he fulfilled the bail conditions, which included meeting the required sureties and providing the necessary documents.
Emefiele is facing trial on six counts of procurement fraud amounting to N1.2 billion. However, the bail was granted after the judge dismissed objections by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) regarding Emefiele’s potential flight risk or interference with the investigation if released.
His release came amid revelations of his performance in office, in which case the report by Jim Obazee, the special investigator appointed on July 30 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to probe the CBN under Emefiele, showed an alleged abuse of office.
The former CBN governor allegedly used proxies to purchase Union Bank, while he was accused of compromising the process that led to the acquisition of Polaris and Keystone banks.
