Court Rules On $2.045m Linked To Emefiele Nov 1

osazuwaakonedo

Court Rules On $2.045m Linked To Emefiele Nov 1   https://osazuwaakonedo.news/court-rules-on-2-045m-linked-to-emefiele-nov-1/12/10/2024/   #Law #Abuja #cbn #EFCC #Emefiele #Godwin #Lagos #Naira #news ©October 12th, 2024 ®October 14, 2024 6:52 am Federal High Court sitting in  Lagos State has fixed November 1, 2024 to rule on the application brought before it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for the final forfeiture of the properties and monies linked to the former Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele who is currently facing series of lawsuits at different courts across the country over his administrative behaviours and operational decisions while he was the apex bank governor in the West Africa country. #OsazuwaAkonedo

Transcript

00:00Federal High Court sitting in Lagos State has fixed November 1, 2024 to rule on the

00:05application brought before it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for

00:11the final forfeiture of the properties and monies linked to the former Central Bank of

00:15Nigeria, CBN Governor, Godwin Emafile, who is currently facing series of lawsuits at

00:21different courts across the country over his administrative behaviors and operational decisions

00:26while he was the apex bank governor in the West Africa country.

00:30Justice Dende Ndepeolu of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday refused to stay for

00:35the proceedings in the suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, seeking

00:41the forfeiture of properties and monies linked to a former governor of the Central Bank,

00:46CBN, Godwin Emafile.

00:49Emafile had through his lawyer, Olalekon Oju, S.A.N., urged the judge to stay proceedings

00:56pending the hearing of an appeal he filed before the Court of Appeal seeking to notify

01:00the temporary forfeiture order earlier granted by the court.

01:05Rejecting the plea, Justice Dende Ndepeolu held that interested parties had the right

01:10to approach the Court of Appeal which must be contingent on the trial court's decision.

01:15The court also held that an appeal flows from the decision of a trial court, but in the

01:20instant case, the court had not made any decision as to any application filed or as

01:26to the substantive issues in the suit.

01:30During the court sitting on September 12th, Oju had urged the court to stay for the proceedings

01:35in the case pending the determination of the banker's appeal.

01:39Emafile's lawyer, Oju had said, we're urging your lordship to stay proceedings pending

01:45the hearing and determination of the appeal court to avoid judicial rascality.

01:50E.F.C.C. lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepu, S.A.N., objected, insisting that no application from Emafile

01:58was taken and ruling on that crystallized to an appeal.

02:02Justice Dendepeolu on Friday therefore fixed November 1st, 2024 to rule on the application

02:08by the Anti-Graft Agency for final forfeiture of the $2.045 million, seven Charles Landed

02:15properties and shares linked to Emafile.

02:18Meanwhile, in another court entertaining a case of alleged fraud against the former

02:23CBN governor, Godwin Emafile, a former deputy governor of the Apex Bank testified before

02:29the federal high court in Abuja on when that Emafile didn't have the Nigeria president,

02:34Mohamadou Bouhari and CBN board's approval for Naira redesign that led to scarcity of

02:39the Naira notes in the country prior to the February 2023 general elections in the country.

02:45E.F.C.C. in a news release reported that Edward Adamu, fourth prosecution witness, PW4, in

02:54the trial of the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emafile on Wednesday,

03:01October 9th, 2024, told Justice Marion Aneni of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High

03:08Court, Maitema, Abuja, that Emafile did not have the approval of either former president

03:14Mohamadou Bouhari or that of the CBN board for the 2023 redesign of Naira notes as required

03:19by the rules. Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepu, San, Adamu disclosed

03:27that the usual process for currency redesign begins with the director of currency operations

03:32submitting a proposal to the Committee of Governors, COG. The COG then transmits the

03:38proposal to CBN board for approval, with the final stage being the seeking of presidential

03:45endorsement. Emafile, he said, bypassed these procedures by simply calling for a COG meeting

03:52and presented what he claimed was a presidential approval and proceeded with the redesign

03:58straight away. I became aware of it in October 2022 when the governor informed us, the deputy

04:05governors, that he had gotten an express approval to redesign the currency. Then on the 26th

04:12of October 2022, we were formally informed of the presidential approval of the redesign,

04:20so that is what happened in October, then there was a formal announcement of the currency

04:25redesign. At the meeting, the governor showed us the approval of the president by showing

04:32us the page where the approval of the president is. Subsequently, there was a board meeting of

04:38the board of directors, where we were also informed of the presidential approval of the

04:43currency redesign, he said. He further disclosed that the current designs of the notes fundamentally

04:51differ from what was originally approved, stating that Emafile unilaterally made the changes.

04:57The redesign affected 200 nairas, 500 nairas, and 1,000 nairas notes. When the defense council,

05:06Olanekon Ojo-san, sought to know if there had been instances where a presidential approval

05:12was gotten for an action before the CBN board was informed, the witness stated that such was

05:18not the practice during his time at the Apex Bank. Justice Aneni discharged the witness from the dock

05:25at the end of the cross-examination and adjourned the matter till October 17, 2024 for continuation

05:31of trial.

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