Justice Maryanne Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High Court has fixed 10 additional trial dates to conclude the corruption case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, over the naira redesign exercise.

The dates were agreed upon following a consensus reached by counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), and counsel to the defendant, Mr. Olalekan Ojo (SAN).

The trial dates are February 3 and 10; April 1 and 2; May 11, 12, 13, and 14; as well as June 9 and 10, during which the trial, which commenced in 2024, is expected to be concluded.

Justice Anenih urged counsel on both sides to adhere strictly to the scheduled dates, assuring them that the court would make the necessary accommodations to ensure the smooth conduct of proceedings throughout the period.

At the day’s proceedings, an EFCC witness, Mr. Emere Chinedu, an operative of the anti-graft agency, told the court that the Presidency, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, had granted approval to Mr. Emefiele to redesign the naira.

Mr. Chinedu, however, stated that the Presidency, in its written response to an enquiry by the EFCC, stipulated that the printing of the redesigned naira notes must be carried out locally, rather than abroad, as was done under Mr. Emefiele’s tenure.

The witness, who headed the inter-agency probe panel that investigated the former CBN governor, further disclosed that Mr. Emefiele made six separate extra-judicial statements in the course of the investigation to present his defence.

According to him, the statements were made on October 26, 27, 30, and 31, as well as November 1 and 2, 2023.

“In the course of our job, we extended our investigation to the State House to obtain records of approval for the naira redesign. The response of the State House was communicated to the EFCC in writing,” Mr. Chinedu said.

“The State House granted approval for the naira redesign, but with a proviso that it must be carried out locally.”

Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Mr. Ojo (SAN), the witness declined to respond to claims made by Mr. Emefiele in one of his statements that a former Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, was the first person to suggest the naira redesign to former President Buhari.

Instead, Mr. Chinedu stated that the EFCC lacked the authority to propose changes to the colour or design of the naira, adding that any involvement by the Commission in such matters could only be advisory.

On a series of video clips from various television stations tendered by the EFCC, which showed Nigerians complaining of hardship during the naira redesign, the witness admitted that the videos pre-dated the establishment of his probe panel by the Federal Government.

He said the clips, comprising news reports and programmes aired by the television stations, were downloaded from the internet by the panel and tendered in court to demonstrate the alleged suffering experienced by Nigerians during the redesign exercise.

Mr. Chinedu further stated that he did not know any of the staff of the television stations who produced the videos and confirmed that no interviews were conducted with any personnel from the stations.

Justice Anenih subsequently adjourned the matter to February 3 for the continuation of cross-examination.