The Federal Government has dropped the 'illegal firearm' accusation against Emefiele and has instead lodged 20 fresh charges against him.

The Federal Government has retracted the unlawful firearm possession charge it had lodged against Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

To recap, Justice Nicholas Oweibo had provided a bail of N20 million to Emefiele upon his arraignment, with a requirement to fulfill bail conditions before his release from the Ikoyi Correctional Centre. 

Despite fulfilling these conditions, the Department of State Services (DSS) had continued to detain Emefiele, citing investigative grounds.

On August 15, Tuesday, Mohammed Bakodo Abubakar, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Federal Ministry of Justice, approached the federal high court in Ikoyi. He made an oral plea to retract the charge of illegal firearm possession.

However, Joseph Daudu (SAN), the defense counsel, opposed this move, accusing the federal government of disregarding the initial court order that granted Emefiele bail.

Following the proceedings, Abubakar informed the press that new charges had been submitted at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court. One of these charges accuses Emefiele of engaging in "unlawful advantages."