The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has pleaded not guilty to fresh allegations brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Emefiele appeared before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama on Monday to answer an eight-count charge connected to alleged fraud, forgery, and unlawful possession of property and funds.
The new case, handled by Justice Yusuf Halilu, follows Emefiele’s alleged link to 753 duplexes recently forfeited to the federal government.
The properties are located at Plot 109, Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District in Abuja and sit on land measuring over 150,000 square meters. The EFCC claims that these houses are tied to fraudulent transactions totaling around N7.8 billion.
The EFCC’s case, filed under charge number CR/358/2025, also accuses Emefiele and a second defendant, Eric Ocheme—who remains at large—of holding billions of naira in proxy accounts with Zenith Bank. In particular, the anti-graft agency alleges that they kept N167 million and N1.23 billion in an account belonging to Kelvito Integrated Services.
Count eight of the charge involves an accusation that Emefiele forged a document titled “Irrevocable Power of Attorney Between MG Properties Limited and H and Y Business Global Limited” in January 2021.
The EFCC believes he did so to mislead others into thinking the document was validly issued by H and Y Business Global Limited. The offences are said to go against Sections 319, 362, and 364 of the Penal Code.
Emefiele, through his lead lawyer Mathew Burkaa (SAN), requested to be granted bail. He noted that the prosecution failed to respond to the bail application with a counter-affidavit. Burkaa also reminded the court that Emefiele is already facing three other cases and has followed all previous bail terms without issue.
Justice Halilu ruled that bail is a constitutional right, stating that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty.
The judge agreed to adopt the earlier bail terms but directed that Emefiele must provide two sureties who own property in Abuja worth at least N2 billion. These sureties must also guarantee his appearance in court and accept imprisonment or the loss of their property if he absconds.
The judge gave Emefiele until Wednesday to meet the bail conditions. Failure to do so will result in his transfer to Kuje prison. The case was then adjourned until July 11 for trial proceedings to continue.
In court, Emefiele also challenged the validity of the charges and questioned the court’s authority to try him. He claimed the seized property was not directly tied to him.
