Court Strikes Out Abuse Of Office Charges Against Emefiele In $2.1bn Fraud Case

Lagos High Court dismisses four abuse of office charges against former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele in the $2.1bn fraud case, citing lack of legal basis. Trial continues February 24.

A Lagos High Court, Ikeja division, has dismissed four charges of alleged abuse of office filed against Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The charges were brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Rahman Oshodi struck out the charges while delivering a ruling on Emefiele’s preliminary objection, where he contested the court’s authority to preside over the 26-count charge involving a $2.1 billion fraud.

Justice Oshodi clarified that the accusations concerning foreign exchange allocation without competitive bidding, which formed the basis of counts 1 to 4, did not constitute an offense under any written law. He stated, “Allocation of foreign exchange without reason is not defined as an offense in any written law. Therefore, counts one to four are struck out.”

However, the judge affirmed the court’s jurisdiction over the remaining charges, citing relevant constitutional and statutory laws. He dismissed Emefiele’s application challenging the court’s jurisdiction, emphasizing that the EFCC had demonstrated sufficient territorial authority regarding counts 8 to 26 through the facts presented in the case file.

Justice Oshodi subsequently scheduled the continuation of the trial for February 24, allowing the case to proceed.