Suspended Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele has urged a Federal High Court in Lagos to stop further prosecution by the Federal Government’s Department of State Services.
Emefiele was arrested by the DSS on July 25 for allegedly illegally having a handgun. He was remanded in detention and granted bail, but the DSS immediately re-arrested him.
In a new appeal before Justice Nicholas Oweibo, Emefiele requests that the court clear him of all accusations filed against him by the DSS. His lawyers, lead by Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN, contend that the DSS’s activities were in “blatant disregard” of the court orders granted him bail on July 25, 2023.
He also requested an order barring the Federal Government from receiving any future judicial indulgences unless and until it complies with the bail finding.
“Relying on Section 6(6)(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), relevant sections of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 and under the inherent powers of the court, Emefiele wants the court to stay further proceedings in the current charge until he exhausts all the remedies available to him in law to compel the government and the DSS to obey the order of the court admitting him to bail or remanding him in prison custody until he perfects his bail terms.
“In the application, he is seeking to invoke the jurisdiction of the court to enforce its orders, so as not to be seen “as a toothless bulldog or paper tiger.”
Emefiele claims that the purpose of his most recent application is to safeguard and uphold the “efficacy, majesty, and integrity of the court as well as the rule of law in our democracy.”
The DSS has also filed complaints against him, and the court will hear the new application today.