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The Federal Capital Territory High Court has granted the request of a former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to travel out of Abuja and within the country.
The suspended CBN Governor is however, not permitted to travel out of the country.
Emefiele, through his lawyer, Mathew Bukka, SAN had applied for a variation of the terms of his bail conditions after Justice Hamza Muazu of the FCT High Court had on November 22, 2023 granted Emefiele bail in the sum of N300m with two sureties in like sum.
The sureties must have landed property in the Maitama District of the FCT.
The judge ordered the former CBN governor not to leave the court’s jurisdiction (Abuja) and directed him to surrendered all his travel documents to the court.
However, at the proceedings on Thursday, January 18, Bukka prayed the court to grant his client freedom to travel out of Abuja, assuring that Emefiele would not jump bail if the restriction was relaxed a bit.
According to Bukka, Emefiele’s traveling documents are already with the court, adding that given the status of the defendant, he won’t jump bail.
But the counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, did not object.
He said, “From experience, we have seen cases where travel documents are with the court and the defendant will travel out of the country. What they usually do is to go to the immigration and depose an affidavit that their traveling documents are missing.
“So, in addition to his traveling documents being with the court, he should write an undertaking that the defendant will remain in Nigeria for the duration of his trial. I am not in any way suggesting the defendant will jump bail. ”
Ruling, the judge held that Emefiele must remain in the country pending the conclusion of his trial.
He said, “The defendant’s application is hereby granted. He must remain in the country for the pendency of his trial. “
