Mohammed Abubakar, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of the Federal Ministry of Justice, has given the reason for the failure to arraign Godwin Emefiele and his co-defendant on corruption charges on Wednesday.
Mr Abubakar also spoke on plea bargain talks reportedly ongoing between the prosecution and Mr Emefiele.
Mr Emefiele, the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Sa’adatu Ramallan-Yaro were billed for arraignment over a N6.9 billion corruption charges at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama.
But the State Security Service (SSS) failed to bring Mr Emefiele and Ms Ramallan-Yaro to court. Both of the defendants have been in SSS custody.
Neither the prosecution headed by the DPP, Mr Abubakar, nor the defence teams were in court for the case scheduled to come up before Hamzat Muazu, a judge at the Maitama Division of the FCT High Court.
Mr Emefiele’s lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and Ms Ramallan-Yaro’s counsel, Abdulhakeem Labi-lawal, were absent.
Earlier reports indicate that Wednesday was the second time Mr Emefiele and Ms Ramallan-Yaro’s scheduled arraignment was stalled.
Earlier on 17 August, Mr Emefiele was brought to court but Ms Ramallan-Yaro was absent due to ill health, a development that compelled the judge to reschedule the pair’s arraignment.
Mr Emefiele was charged alongside Mrs Ramalan-Yaro, and her company, April 1616 Investment Limited.
Mr Emefiele and Mrs Ramalan-Yaro, a CBN staff member, were accused of conspiracy and corruption involving procurement of vehicles worth as much as N6.9 billion for the CBN.
The charges alleged that Mr Emefiele conferred corrupt advantages on Ms Ramalan-Yaro, using her firm, April 1616 Investment Limited, to execute a series of procurement contracts spanning years.
The failure of the arraignment to take place on two consecutive occasions had fuelled speculations about ongoing plea bargain talks between the defence and the prosecution. It was reported that Mr Emefiele opted for the plea bargain.
‘Security threats’
But speaking on Thursday in Abuja, the DPP explained that Mr Emefiele was not arraigned on Wednesday because there were safety concerns around the court.
“You remember at the last sitting, some angry persons mobilised to the court threatening to lynch him (Mr Emefiele),” Mr Abubakar said.
“We were ready to bring the defendants to court for arraignment on Wednesday, but we received an intelligence report that some people were out to foment trouble. So, we had to shelve the arraignment.”
Contrary to media reports that Mr Emefiele had struck a plea bargain deal with the government, Mr Abubakar said nothing like that has come up in the case.
He said neither Mr Emefiele, his co-defendant, nor the prosecution had made any suggestion for a plea agreement.
“As far as we are concerned, there is no such application for plea bargain before the Ministry of Justice,” Mr Abubakar said.
He, however, added that the law provides for plea bargain, and if “there is any such request it would be considered.”
A plea bargain is a legal process that allows a defendant charged with an offence in court, usually before trial begins or gets to an advanced stage, to plead guilty to a lesser crime in order to get softer sentence.
Many of the early high-profile corruption cases in which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had secured conviction were based on plea bargains. Such cases include that of the deceased former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeisegha, the late former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun.
Crimes Commission (EFCC) had secured conviction were based on plea bargains. Such cases include that of the deceased former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeisegha, the late former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun.
Background
At last week’s proceedings, protesters thronged the premises of the FCT High Court at Maitama, demanding to whip Mr Emefiele for subjecting Nigerians to excruciating pain during the botched CBN currency redesign policy.
“My only desire is for the security people to surrender Godwin Emefiele to us so that every Nigerian can flog one stroke of cane for the suffering he put through,” a protester who refused to disclose his name told this reporter at court premises last week.
Another protester wondered how many Nigerians died as a result of their inability to access funds from the banks during the CBN currency redesign policy.
After the day’s court hearing, the protesters besieged the two exit points of the court, forcing the SSS operatives who had brought Mr Emefiele to court to tarry over an hour before whisking him away in a gestapo manner.
In February, the central bank currency redesign policy phased out old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes.
But the unavailability of the new naira notes stifled socioeconomic activities across Nigeria, compelling some state governments to sue the central government.
Owing to the widespread hardships, the Supreme Court of Nigeria ordered the federal government to halt the currency redesign policy, but then President Muhammadu Buhari and Mr Emefiele stubbornly pursued its implementation.
Fresh charges
President Bola Tinubu suspended Mr Emefiele from office as CBN governor on 9 June, the next day Nigeria’s secret police, SSS, arrested him in Lagos. He was later flown to Abuja where is being held.
After holding apex bank chief for several weeks, the government arraigned Mr Emefiele before the Federal High Court in Lagos over illegal possession of firearms.
But the two-count charge was later struck out after it was withdrawn by the DPP.
On 14 August, the government filed a 20-count charge bordering on procurement fraud against Mr Emefiele and Ms Ramallan-Yaro.
The charges alleged that Mr Emefiele conferred corrupt advantages on Ms Ramalan-Yaro, using her firm, April 1616 Investment Limited, to execute a series of procurement contracts spanning years.
The government alleged that the defendants committed the offences through the award of contracts to Mrs Ramalan-Yaro’s company for the supply of cars.
The defendants, allegedly through the corrupt transactions, purchased a fleet of about 100 posh vehicles and armoured buses worth about N6.9 billion.
The alleged corrupt transactions took place between 2018 and 2020, according to the charges.
Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, under which he was charged, provides a five-year jail sentence upon conviction.
“Any public officer who uses his office or position to gratify or confer any corrupt or unfair advantage upon himself or any relation or associate of the public officer or any other public officer shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for five years without an option of fine,” the law stipulates.
Mr Emefiele has since remained in SSS custody. Mrs Ramalan-Yaro, who was arrested alongside her husband, Aminu Yaro, on 12 July, is also still in SSS’ custody.
The FCT High Court ordered the release of the couple on 25 July. But the order was not complied with.
It took an order of the FCT High Court on 13 July, more than a month after the arrest, for the SSS to file the firearms charges against Mr Emefiele.
Subsequently, on 25 July, the SSS arraigned him before the Federal High Court in Lagos on two charges of “illegal possession” of firearms and live ammunition.
The government subsequently applied to the court to have the firearms possession charges against Mr Emefiele dropped.
It was also reported that Mr Emefiele’s co-defendant in the fresh charges also has a pending money laundering case involving about N140 billion.
