The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has rejected claims that the Federal Government is in a non-prosecution plea bargain agreement with former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
It was reported in the media that the ex-governor was seeking a N50 billion plea bargain with the Federal government to avert prosecutorial charges against him in the law court.
However, in a statement released on Sunday, AGF responding through Ministry of Justice spokesperson Modupe Ogundoro, labelled the report as false, insisting that no such agreement is made between Emefiele and the government.
The AGF denied the existence of any agreement between his office and the former CBN governor.
The statement read,
- “The attention of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has been drawn to reports alleging that the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, and the Federal Government of Nigeria, have agreed to a non-prosecution plea bargain arrangement.
- “It would be noted that the legal team representing Godwin Emefiele had expressed its intention in court at the last hearing to initiate a plea bargain arrangement. However, no such arrangement has been reached with Mr. Godwin Emefiele or his representatives.
- “We wish to advise the media and members of the public to kindly disregard the said false report. The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice will continue to take all actions in the interest of the Nigerian public.”
What you should know
Earlier in June, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, was taken into custody by Nigeria’s Department of State Security Service (DSS), hours after President Bola Tinubu suspended him from office.
Two months later, Mr Emefiele, was charged with 20 charges of conspiracy and procurement fraud in the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He was charged alongside a CBN staff member, Sa’adatu Yaro, and her company, April 1616 Investment Limited.
The government accuses Mr Emefiele of conferring corrupt advantages on Ms Yaro through the award of contracts to her company up to the tune of N99.9m for the supply of cars.
Court filings showed that the alleged transactions took place between 2018 and 2020.
Meanwhile, there have been speculations in the media that Emefiele is seeking a plea bargain with the Federal government to avoid prosecutorial charges filed against him.
