Mr Emefiele was present in court for the arraignment on alleged N6.9 billion fraud, but the judge had to reschedule his arraignment.
The absence of a co-defendant stalled the scheduled arraignment of Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on charges of procurement fraud at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja on Thursday.
Although represented by her lawyer, the co-defendant, Sa'adatu Ramalan-Yaro, was said to be absent from court because of ill health. Mr Emefiele was, however, present, and appeared set for arraignment in a case involving 20 counts of conspiracy and procurement fraud.
The case came up before a judge of the Maitama Division of the FCT High Court, Hamzat Muazu.
After the suspended CBN governor mounted the defendant's box, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mohammed Abubakar, informed the court that Mrs Ramallan-Yaro "is indisposed to be in court". He said he was informed of the woman's condition Thursday morning.
Mr Abubakar asked for an adjournment to enable the prosecution to present the defendants for arraignment.
Responding to the request for an adjournment, Mr Emefiele's lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), requested to have a brief audience with Mr Emefiele, which was not opposed by the DPP.
"I must commend the DPP for his professional handling of this matter so far," Mr Kehinde told the judge.
Mrs Ramalan-Yaro's lawyer, Abdulhakeem Labi-Lawal, also consented to the request for an adjournment.
He, however, informed the court of a pending bail application for Mrs Ramalan-Yaro.
The judge said the bail application would be taken after the defendants' arraignment.
The court adjourned the suit until 23 August for arraignment.
Emefiele's trial
Mr Emefiele was charged alongside Mrs Ramalan-Yaro, and her company, April 1616 Investment Limited.
Mr Emefiele and Mrs Ramalan-Yaro, described in the charge as a CBN staff member, were accused of conspiracy and procurement fraud involving as much as N6.9 billion.
The charges alleged that Mr Emefiele conferred corrupt advantages on Ms Ramalan-Yaro, using her firm, April 1616 Investment Limited.
The government alleged that the defendants perpetrated procurement fraud through the award of contracts to Mrs Ramalan-Yaro's company for the supply of cars.
The defendants, allegedly through the corrupt transactions, purchased a fleet of about 100 posh vehicles and armoured buses worth about N6.9 billion.
The alleged corrupt transactions took place between 2018 and 2020, according to the charges.
Mr Emefiele has been in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS) since 10 June, a day after President Bola Tinubu, suspended the bank chief from office.
Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, under which he was charged, provides a five-year jail sentence upon conviction.
"Any public officer who uses his office or position to gratify or confer any corrupt or unfair advantage upon himself or any relation or associate of the public officer or any other public officer shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for five years without an option of fine," the law stipulates.
President Bola Tinubu suspended Mr Emefiele as the CBN governor on 9 June. The next day, 10 June, the SSS picked him up in Lagos and flew him to its headquarters in Abuja for interrogation.
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Mr Emefiele has since remained in SSS custody. His co-defendant in the fresh case, Mrs Ramalan-Yaro, who was arrested alongside her husband, Aminu Yaro, on 12 July, is also still in custody.
This newspaper reported how the FCT High Court ordered the release of the couple on 25 July. But the order was not complied with.
It took an order of the FCT High Court on 13 July, more than a month after the arrest, for the SSS to file the firearms charges against Mr Emefiele.
Subsequently, on 25 July, the SSS arraigned him before the Federal High Court in Lagos on two charges of "illegal possession" of firearms and live ammunition.
The government on Tuesday applied to have the firearms possession charges against Mr Emefiele dropped.
PREMIUM TIMES also reported that Mr Emefiele's co-defendant in the fresh charges also has a pending money laundering case involving about N140 billion.
