Nigerian court grants bail to former central bank chief
Former Nigerian Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele has been granted bail by a Nigerian court.
Justice Hamza Muazu granted Emefiele bail subject to the provision of a 300 million naira (roughly 367,000 U.S. dollars) bond and two sureties with properties in Abuja.
The judge also ordered Emefiele to deposit his travel documents with the court and remain in Abuja while the case against him proceeds.
He faces six charges of fraud and corruption. Prosecutors reduced the charges from a previous 20-count indictment in which he was charged alongside two others so that he could be tried separately and quickly.
Emefiele, suspended as head of the central bank in June, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The former bank chief led the bank for nine years, most of which were spent under President Bola Tinubu’s predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.
Tinubu, who announced economic reforms at his inauguration in May, stated that the central bank policy needed “thorough house-cleaning.”
