The Federal Capital Territory High Court has ordered that former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele be held in the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the outcome of his bail application.
Emefiele is on trial for allegedly engaging in procurement fraud.
The trial, which had already been postponed three times, was eventually held on Friday.
The Federal Government initially proposed 20 procurement fraud allegations totalling N6.5 billion against the former CBN governor.
However, the FG reduced the counts to six for a total of over N1 billion, for which he was arraigned on Friday.
Emefiele’s attorney, Mathew Burkaa SAN, filed for bail during Friday’s sessions, but the FG counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, was adamantly opposed to giving bail to the former CBN governor.
The presiding judge, Justice Hamza Muazu, stated that a bench verdict could not be issued due to the numerous authorities mentioned by the two sides.
The court stated that he required some time to study the authorities and go over the materials provided by Emefiele to support his bail plea.
He did, however, order Emefiele’s remand at the Kuje jail until the outcome of his bail application.
Muazu therefore continued the case until November 22 for a decision on the bail application and November 28 for the start of the trial.
His remand order comes after Justice Olukayode Adeniyi granted his release to his lawyers on November 8 after he had been detained for 151 days.