Godwin Emefiele, a former governor of the CBN, was quietly released from Kuje Prison after meeting his bail requirements.

According to reports, Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who has been dealing with legal troubles, has discreetly been released from Kuje Prison after meeting his bail requirements. At 3 p.m., the discharge is said to have taken place discreetly and out of sight of the public. The reason for the lack of publicity surrounding Emefiele’s release was that, according to a prison insider, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is still looking for him to arrest. According to the source, jail officials made sure that visitors were unaware of the release and were actively participating in the scheme. Emefiele had trouble adhering to his bail requirements since he was worried about possible government retaliation against his sureties.

Maxwell Opara, one of his solicitors, told THE WHISTLER, “I can’t confirm that to you unless I speak with the brother,” so it’s unclear at the time of going to press who saved him.

On November 8, the Federal Capital Territory High Court’s Justice Olukayode Adeniyi granted the CBN bail.

On November 18, he was again charged with six counts related to procurement fraud and placed under detention at Kuje Prison.

He was charged with utilising Sa’adatu Yaro, a CBN employee, to grant a contract for the purchase of 43 cars valued at N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020 in order to corruptly enrich himself while serving as governor of the CBN.

The charge sheet listed the following vehicles: two Toyota Hilux Shell Specification at N44,200,000; one Toyota Avalon at N99.9 million; one Toyota Landcruiser V8 at N73.8 million; and 37 Toyota Hilux at N854.7 million.

He was given N300 million in bail with sureties who had to be the owners of homes in the Maitama neighbourhood of Abuja and had certificates of occupancy after entering a plea of “not guilty” to the amended allegation.

In a final panel report titled “Report of the Special Investigation on CBN and Related Entities (Chargeable Offences)” that was submitted to President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, Jim Obazee, the special investigator looking into CBN and related entities, accused the former head of the CBN of using the organization’s Ways and Means advances to enrich himself.

Calls and texts were sent to the Kuje Prison’s spokesperson, Abubakar Umar, who did not return messages.