The suspended Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, has pleaded not guilty before a Federal High Court, Lagos, to a charge of illegal possession of firearms.
Emefiele who was arraigned on Tuesday was charged by the Department of State Services, DSS, on two counts charge bordering on alleged possession of firearms.
In the first count, Emefiele is accused of possessing a single-barrel shotgun (JOJEFF MAGNUM 8371) without a licence, which is contrary to Section 4 of the Firearms Act, and punishable under Section 27 (1b) of the same Act.
In the second count, the suspended CBN governor is accused of having in his possession 123 rounds of live ammunition (cartridges) without a licence, which is contrary to Section 8 of the Firearms Act and punishable under Section 27 (1)(b)(il) of the same Act.
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It would be recalled that the Department of State Services, DSS, confirmed the arrest of Emefiele on Saturday, June 10, 2023.
The confirmation was made by the spokesman of the DSS, Mr. Peter Afunanya in a statement he issued.
“The Department of State Services (DSS) hereby confirms that Mr Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is now in its custody for some investigative reasons,” the statement reads in part.
The confirmation came after an initial denial of the arrest of the suspended CBN boss by the DSS.
FrontPage reports that President Bola Tinubu suspended Emefiele from office with immediate effect as Governor of the CBN on Friday, June 9, 2023.
The announcement was made by Willie Bassey, Director, Information Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Emefiele, it was revealed, had been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), Mr Folashodun Shonubi.
Shonubi, it was said, would act as the CBN Governor, pending the conclusion of investigation and the reforms.
