A former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, is reportedly behind the plea bargain effort between the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele and the Bola Tinubu Government.
The suspended CBN boss and his his-co accused, Saadat Yaro, have reportedly opted for a plea bargain to settle with the Federal Government, which led to an indefinite shift in their arraignment in court.
Recall that the federal government filed a 20-count charge bordering on alleged breach of procurement laws and contract inflation on the suspects, to the tune of N6.9 billion.
However, the arraignment scheduled for Wednesday by a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory was not stated on the cause list of the court. Similarly, Emefiele and Yaro were not in court neither was any unusual security presence observed around the court premises.
It was gathered that the arraignment was shifted at the instance of the detained CBN Governor to enable all parties to come to an agreement on the plea bargain.
Also, the plea bargain effort reportedly led to the withdrawal of the fundamental rights enforcement suit filed against the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) by two brothers of Emefiele.
However, according to SaharaReporters, Ibori, who is an ally of President Tinubu, is presently working behind the scenes for Emefiele to plead to lesser charges and get released.
A source, on Thursday, told the news platform that Ibori was arranging for the suspended apex boss to forfeit an incomplete building in Abuja and pay a fine of N10 million.
“The plea bargain scam between the FG and Emefiele is being arranged by Ibori. He is arranging for Emefiele to plead to lesser charges and get released. He is arranging for him to forfeit an incomplete building in Abuja and pay a fine of N10 million,” the sources said.
