At the resumed proceedings on Thursday, July 16, 2026, prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed, informed the court that neither Emefiele nor his lead counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, was present for the hearing.
The trial of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, over the alleged unlawful redesign of the naira was on Thursday stalled following the absence of both the defendant and his counsel before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja.
Emefiele is standing trial before Justice Maryanne Anenih on a four-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), bordering on alleged disobedience to lawful directives and unlawful acts that allegedly caused harm to members of the public in connection with the controversial naira redesign policy.
At the resumed proceedings on Thursday, July 16, 2026, prosecution counsel, Abbas Mohammed, informed the court that neither Emefiele nor his lead counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, was present for the hearing.
Addressing the court, Mohammed said, "My Lord, the defence and the defendant are not in court. We received today's date from the court registrar. Our witness, PW9, is present in court, as well as another witness from the Federal Ministry of Finance. I spoke with learned Silk for the defence, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, SAN, who informed me that they were unaware of the adjourned date. In view of the absence of the defendant and his counsel, we respectfully pray the court for another date to enable us to present our witnesses."
