Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has pleaded not guilty to a four-count charge leveled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Emefiele entered his plea during his arraignment before Justice Maryann Anenih of the FCT High Court in Abuja.
The EFCC has accused Emefiele of disobeying the direction of the law with the intent to cause injury to the public during his implementation of the naira swap policy of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
READ ALSO: BREAKING: Court Remands Emefiele In EFCC Custody
He is also alleged to have unlawfully approved the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation.
This arraignment marks the third set of charges against Emefiele. On November 17, 2023, he was arraigned before Justice Hamza Muazu on a six-count charge of procurement fraud, to which he pleaded not guilty.
He was accused of abusing his office by approving a contract for the acquisition of 43 vehicles totaling N1.2 billion from 2018 to 2020.
READ ALSO:BREAKING: Court Remands Emefiele In EFCC Custody
Subsequently, on April 8, 2024, Emefiele was arraigned alongside Henry Omoile before Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, for an alleged $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud. Once again, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The latest charge, dated April 2, 2024, was filed by the EFCC prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) alongside eight other lawyers acting on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation.
Counts one to four of the charge accuse Emefiele of disobeying the direction of the law with intent to cause injury to the public.