Federal government on Sunday evening distanced itself from a N50bn planned non prosecution plea bargain with the former Central Bank Governor (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
News making the rounds on sunday suggested the former CBN Governor have entered into a plea bargain with government on condition of returning N50bn to facilitate his release from the custody of the Department of State Service (DSS).
The plea bargain was also said to be aimed at cancelling the trial of the former CBN chief on series of charges comprising money laundering, breach of Public Procurement Act and abuse of office.
Debunking the insinuation, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, said there was no iota of truth in the plea bargain deal.
He said neither his office nor the Presidency have had anything of such nature with Emefiele and lawyers.
This was made known to the public in a statement released by the Director of Information in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Modupe Ogundoro.
The statement reads in part: “The attention of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has been drawn to a report alleging that the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele and the Federal Government of Nigeria, have agreed to a non-prosecution plea bargain arrangement.
“The report further alleges that Mr. Emefiele and the Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, have signed a non prosecution plea bargain agreement and that the agreement is awaiting the signature of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice hereby states clearly that these reports are completely false.”
