Six executives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) implicated in an alleged N8 billion defaced and mutilated currency recycling scam were on Tuesday remanded in prison custody.
They had been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The suspects, Patience Okoro Eye, Afolabi Olufemi Johnson, Ilori Adekunle Sunday, Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Muniru Adeola and Fatai Adedokun Yusuf, were arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, fraud and stealing before Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of a federal high court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo state.
According to Wilson Uwujaren, head of media and publicity, EFCC, the CBN employees were alleged to have compromised the CBN’s Briquetting exercise meant to mop up mutilated and defaced higher denomination currencies from circulation.
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Instead of destroying the currencies, they allegedly recycled the notes and substituted them with newspapers neatly cut to Naira sizes.
When the charges were read to them, they pleaded not guilty prompting Rotimi Jacobs, prosecuting counsel, to ask the court for a trial date and for the defendants to be remanded in prison custody.
However, Olayinka Bolanle, counsel to the fourth accused, made an oral application for bail arguing that the offence is not a capital offence while all other counsel for the remaining accused persons adopted the argument of Bolanle.
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Jacobs opposed their bail applications in view of the gravity of the offences arguing that they should be remanded in prison custody pending when the court would receive a written application for bail and urged counsel to the defendants to present their bail applications formally to court.
Justice Emmanuel ruling on the oral bail application made by the six defence counsel ordered the remand of the accused at the Agodi Prisons in Ibadan and adjourned the matter to June 9, 2015 for hearing of the bail applications and July 6 and 7, 2015 for commencement of trial.
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