(Godwin Emefiele. Photo by EFCC)
The absence of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, and his counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, on Thursday stalled the continuation of his trial before Justice Maryanne Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, over the alleged unlawful redesign of the naira.
At the resumed proceedings, prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed, informed the court that both the defendant and his counsel were absent.
He explained that the prosecution had received the adjourned date from the court registrar and had its ninth prosecution witness present in court, along with another witness from the Federal Ministry of Finance, but that defence counsel had indicated he was unaware of the scheduled date.
In light of this, Mohammed asked the court for a fresh date to enable the prosecution present its witnesses.
Justice Anenih subsequently adjourned the matter to October 6 and 7, 2026, for continuation of trial.
Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on a four-count charge bordering on alleged disobedience to lawful directives and unlawful acts said to have caused harm to members of the public in connection with the controversial naira redesign policy.