Strong indications have emerged that the planned arraignment of the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, on alleged breach of procurement laws and contract inflation has been put off indefinitely.

The arraignment on a 20-count charge slated for Wednesday by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory was not stated on the cause list. It was gathered that the arraignment was shifted at the instance of the detained CBN governor.

Mr. Emefiele and his-co accused, Mrs. Saadat Yaro, may be considering the option for a plea bargain to settle with the Federal Government. Mr. Emefiele’s counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria,(SAN) Mr. Kehinde Akinlolu, confirmed the shift in the arraignment.

He said that a new date may likely be issued by the Chief Judge, Justice Hussein Baba Yusuf.

At the time of this report, operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, who used to escort Mr. Emefiele to court, and his legal team were conspicuously absent from the court premises but the court has commenced proceedings on other matters on the cause list.

Last week Thursday, the scheduled arraignment of suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele was stalled at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja.

Although Mr. Emefiele was present in court, the arraignment could not hold as the second defendant, Mrs. Saadat Yaro, was absent.

Counsel to the Federal Government and Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, told Justice Hamza Muazu that Mrs Saadat Yaro took ill in the morning, hence her absence.

Mr. Abubakar apologized to the court and applied for a new date for arraignment.

The request for adjournment was not opposed by Mr. Akinlolu Kehinde, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), counsel to Emefiele.

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