The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a fresh charge against Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In the four-count charge, the anti-graft agency accused Emefiele of approving the printing of N684,590,000 notes at the rate of N18.96 billion.

EFCC alleged that Emefiele broke the law with intent to harm the public during his implementation of the naira swap policy under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The agency also accused the former CBN governor of unlawfully approving the withdrawal of N124.8 billion from the consolidated revenue fund of the federation.

Emefiele will be arraigned on these counts before Maryann Anenih, judge of a federal capital territory (FCT) high court, on April 30.

This would be the third criminal case pending against Emefiele.

On November 17, 2023, Emefiele was arraigned before Hamza Muazu, a judge of the federal capital territory (FCT) high court, on a six-count charge of procurement fraud, to which he pleaded not guilty.

The charge has since been amended to 20 counts bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, procurement fraud and conspiracy to commit a felony.

On April 8, the EFCC also arraigned the former CBN governor, alongside one Henry Omoile, an official of the apex bank, before Rahman Oshodi of the special offences court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos over an alleged $4.5billion and N2.8 billion fraud.

Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi, withdrew $720,000 from the state’s coffers to pay his child’s school fee in advance.

Olukoyede spoke in Abuja on Tuesday during an interactive session with media executives.

The EFCC boss alleged that the former Kogi governor transferred money from the state coffers to a bureau de change operator, and used the money for his child’s school fee in advance.

Olukoyede added that Bello made the payment in anticipation that his tenure was gradually coming to an end.

“A sitting governor, because he knew he was leaving office, moved money directly from the government to bureau de change and used it to pay his child’s school fee in advance,” the EFCC boss said.

“Over $720,000 in anticipation that he was going to leave the government house. In a poor state like Kogi, you want me to close my eyes under the guise of ‘I’m being used’. Used by who? At this stage of my life.”

Olukoyede said he inherited the case file of the former Kogi governor, noting that he did not initiate the investigation against Bello.

On April 17, EFCC operatives laid siege on Bello’s residence in Abuja to arrest him over alleged N80 billion fraud.

While the EFCC operatives were at Bello’s residence, Usman Ododo, governor of Kogi, came to visit his predecessor.

Shortly after Ododo departed from the residence, the EFCC operatives also left the house.

Bello was reportedly rescued by Ododo when he departed his residence located in the Wuse Zone 4 district of Abuja.

Subsequently, the anti-graft agency declared the former governor wanted.

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has also placed Bello on a watchlist.

The anti-graft agency alleged that Bello, alongside Alli Bello, chief of staff to Ododo; and one Daudu Suleiman, diverted about N80.2 billion belonging to the Kogi government.

Yahaya Bello, former governor of Kogi, says his failure to appear before a federal high court in Abuja is due to fear of arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC is seeking to arraign Bello on 19 counts bordering on alleged money laundering, breach of trust and misappropriation of funds to the tune of N80.2 billion.

Although the arraignment was initially scheduled for April 18, Bello was absent from court on the day.

At the resumed court session on Tuesday, Adeola Adedipe, a member of Bello’s legal team, said his client would have appeared in court but was worried about being taken into custody.

“The defendant wants to come to court but he is afraid that there is an order of arrest hanging on his head,” Adedipe said.

He asked the court to revoke the warrant of arrest issued on April 17 against the former governor.

Adedipe argued that the charge had not been served on his client as required by law at the time the warrant of arrest was made.

“As at the time the warrant was issued, the order for substituted service had not been made. That order was just made this morning,” he said.

“A warrant of arrest should not be hanging on his neck when we leave this court,” counsel to the defendant added.

However, Kemi Pinheiro, EFCC’s lawyer, argued that for the arrest warrant to be vacated, the former governor must be arraigned and take his plea.

Earlier, Emeka Nwite, presiding judge, made an order directing that the defendant should be served the charges by substituted means through his lawyers.