Court Fixes Date for Emefiele’s Arraignment

In judicial cases, the Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed Tuesday (25 July) for the arraignment of the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, on the charges of illegally possessing firearms and ammunition.

The State Security Service (SSS), which has been holding Emefiele in custody since 10 June, had filed the charges on Thursday (13 July), the same day a judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja gave the agency a one-week ultimatum to either charge him in court or release him.

The SSS had held Emefiele for over a month without charges until the 13 July ruling

The trial judge, Nicholas Oweibo, of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court, fixed 25 July for arraignment after he was assigned the case.

In the newly filed case, the agency accused Emefiele of possessing a single-barrel shotgun without a licence, an offence said to be contrary to Section 4 of the Firearms Act, and punishable under Section 27 (1b) of the same Act.

In the second count, the SSS charged him with illegally possessing 23 rounds of live ammunition (cartridges) without a licence. The offence is also said to be contrary to Section 8 of the Firearms Act and punishable under Section 27 (1)(b)(il) of the same Act.

The charges are a downgrade of much weightier allegations of terrorism financing and economic sabotage the SSS earlier levelled against the suspended CBN governor