The suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, may have decided to enter into a plea bargain with the federal government, Politics Nigeria reports.
Plea bargains allow prosecutors to avoid trials, which are shunned because they are time-consuming, labour-intensive, and costly but carry no guarantee of success.
Its primary benefit for both the prosecution and the defense is that there is no risk of complete loss at trial.
The suggestion comes after the former CBN boss and his co-accused, Saadat Yaro failed to appear at a federal high court, in Abuja, for trial on Wednesday.
Emefiele and his protégé were charged to court last week by the Department of State Services, DSS, on a 20-count charge bordering on alleged involvement in the ₦6.9 billion procurement fraud.
The embattled apex bank boss had earlier been admitted to N20 million bail by the court in the illegal possession of firearms charge leveled against him by the DSS.
The accused persons were expected to appear before the Abuja court today, but their absence has raised suggestions that Emefiele may have decided to settle the corruption case through plea bargaining with the federal government.
The former CBN governor, sources said is aware of the enormous evidence against him, and may be considering a settlement knowing that there’s no way out of his present predicament.
It’s based on the ongoing discussions among the parties involved that the arraignment of Emefiele was shifted to another date, the source said.
According to Kehinde Akinlolu, a senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, counsel to Emefiele, the arraignment has been adjourned to another date.
The former CBN governor was suspended on June 9 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and was picked up a few hours later by the DSS.
He has been remanded in the custody of the secret police for close to three months.
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