Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Justice has revealed that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) has not signed a plea deal with the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
In a statement that was released on Saturday through the Director of Press and Public Relations, Modupe Ogundoro, the Federal Ministry of Justice said that its attention had been drawn to a report by a news outlet which said that Emefiele had signed a non-prosecution plea bargain agreement with Nigerian government through the AGF, and the agreement was awaiting the signature of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Regarding this report, the statement read, “The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice hereby states clearly that these reports are completely false.
“It would be noted that the legal team representing Mr. Godwin Emefiele had expressed their intention in court at the last hearing to initiate a plea bargain arrangement. However, no such arrangement has been reached with Mr. Godwin Emefiele or his representatives.
“We wish to advise the media and members of the public to kindly disregard the said false report. The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice will continue to take all actions in the interest of the Nigerian public.”
Emefiele was arrested and detained by the State Security Service (SSS) just hours after he was suspended from his post as the governor of the CBN in June 2023. He has been in detention since then.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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