Godwin Emefiele Pleads Not Guilty To Firearm Charges, Granted N20m Bail

The suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele has been arriagned before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, where he faced two charges related to the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Godwin Emefiele was arraigned on Tuesday morning, July 25, after spending over six weeks in detention following his arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS).

His counsel had repeatedly challenged the prolonged detention, and on July 13, the DSS finally yielded to pressure and announced that Emefiele would be charged in court.

This morning, Emefiele was brought to court by DSS operatives in a hilux vehicle.

The suspended CBN governor appeared before Justice Nicholas Oweibo and pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him by the Federal Government.

Leading the defence team was Joseph Daudu, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Daudu informed the court about his client’s extended detention and confirmed that a bail application had been filed and served on the prosecution.

However, the DSS raised objections to the court hearing the bail application, claiming it had not been served.

Despite the objections, Justice Oweibo ruled that the charges against Emefiele were bailable.

Consequently, he granted bail to the suspended CBN Governor in the sum of N20 million. The bail was granted with one surety in like sum.

KanyiDaily recalls that a Federal Capital Territory High Court had ordered the DSS to release Godwin Emefiele on bail if he is not taken to a court within one week.