The Federal Capital Territory High Court Abuja, on Wednesday, granted N300m bail to former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, who is being prosecuted for alleged procurement fraud.
Justice Hamza Muazu granted the bail with two sureties in like sum.
The judge said the sureties must have certificates of occupancy and titles of properties within the Maitama District of Abuja.
He also ordered Emefiele to deposit all his travel documents with the registrar of the court, adding that he must remain within the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
The judge, however, ordered that Emefiele should remain in Kuje Correctional Centre till he meets the bail conditions.
The Freelanews reports that Emefiele was not in court on Wednesday.
The matter, which was scheduled for 11 am, was heard by 9 am. This, our correspondent learnt, was responsible for Emefiele’s absence in court.
Also, our correspondent learnt that Emefiele was unable to perfect his bail on Wednesday.
While rejecting the objection by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to Emefiele’s bail application, Justice Muazu disagreed with the anti-graft agency that the ex-CBN governor was a flight risk and could jump bail, jeopardise investigation or threaten the security of the country if granted bail.
The judge noted that Emefiele was granted bail on November 8 by Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of the Federal High Court Abuja and was present in court after a week for his arraignment.
Besides, he held that bail was at the discretion of the court, according to the law.
After granting the bail application, Justice Muazu adjourned till November 28 for the commencement of the trial.
Emefiele is standing trial on six counts bordering on procurement fraud to the tune of N1.2bn.
He was arraigned on November 14 but he pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of his bail application.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
