Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, faces renewed legal challenges as the Federal Government amends the charges against him, increasing the count from six to 20. The charges encompass forgery, conferring of corrupt advantage, and criminal breach of trust, among others.

Originally, 19 charges were filed against Emefiele related to N6.9bn procurement fraud. However, the government had initially pruned it down to six, amounting to N1.2bn, for his ongoing trial. In the latest amendments, Emefiele is accused of obtaining $6.2m under false pretense by misrepresenting the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The charges include allegations of connivance with an individual, Eric Ocheme, at large, to commit forgery. Emefiele is further accused of conferring corrupt advantage by awarding a contract for the renovation of a portion of the CBN Governor’s residence in Lagos to the tune of N99.8m to a company where his wife and brother-in-law are directors.

Emefiele’s counsel, Mathew Bukka, SAN, requested time to review the amended charges, and the trial judge, Justice Hamza Muazu, scheduled the fresh plea hearing for Friday, January 19.