Emefiele’s woes persist, as DSS re-arrests suspended CBN Governor
…Clashes with Correctional Service for custody
…Court grants Emefiele bail
…Lawyers, HURIWA condemn arrest, berate DSS DG
The woes of the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele continue to progress as the Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday rearrested the suspended CBN Governor flouting the order of the Federal High Court.
Recall that Emefiele was suspended by President Bola Tinubu in June following several allegations charted against him by the DSS.
There had been previous uproar following his suspension by the President and his unlawful detention by the DSS before the security service prompted to charge the embattled security Governor to court.
…Court grants Emefiele bail
Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday admitted Emefiele to bail in the sum of the N20 million.
The Judge ordered that Emefiele be remanded at the correctional center pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions.
Emefiele was granted bail after pleading not guilty to the two counts bordering on the alleged illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
The embattled suspended CBN Governor is facing two counts of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition preferred against him by the Federal Ministry of Justice before the vacation judge, Justice Nicholas Oweibo.
He is also accused of possessing a single-barrelled shotgun (JOJEFF MAGNUM 8371) without a licence and illegally being in possession of 23 rounds of live ammunition (cartridges) without a licence.
…DSS clashes with Correctional Service for custody of Emefiele
However, the tides of the trial of Emefiele took a different turn with the DSS taking custody of the suspended and embattled apex bank chief despite the court order.
The DSS operatives and officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) clashed violently over the custody of suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, at the premises of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos on Tuesday.
The tussle which resulted in a prison officer’s cloth being torn had the DSS operatives prevailing over the Correctional Service officials and whisking Emefiele away.
…Lawyers, HURIWA comdemn arrest, berate DSS DG
Reacting to the unprofessional conduct, Constitutional Lawyers have condemned the DSS, calling for the suspension and arrest of the Director General of the agency, Yusuf Bichi.
The constitutional lawyers led by Barr. Tijani Ahmed in a statement called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to save democracy and the image of the judiciary by immediately ordering the arrest of DSS DG for the behaviour of his operatives.
They lamented DSS’ continuous total disrespect and disregard for the rule of law, saying that something urgent needs to be done by the government to put an end to this abuse of power.
The statement reads, “It’s a big shame and insult, that the judiciary arm of government was disrespected by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) who fought officials of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) over who would take custody of suspended Central Bank of Nigeria, Governor Godwin.
“Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos admitted Emefiele to bail in the sum of the N20 million. The Judge ordered that Emefiele be remanded at the correctional center pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions. Shortly after the ruling, DSS operatives strategically positioned their Hilux Pick Up van used to bring Emefiele to court, in a manner suggesting that they wanted to abduct him to their detention centre.
“According to reports, this prompted Emefiele’s lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and other lawyers to raise an alarm about their client’s planned re-arrest by the secret police. After the court ruling, the suspended CBN Governor holed up inside the courtroom with his lawyers. However, when the prison officials moved to take Emefiele into custody pending the fulfilment of his bail conditions, the secret police challenged them and it led to a fight.
“Over the months the DSS has been on a rampage, first they disregarded court rulings barring them from arresting Emefiele. Again they disregarded court ruling ordering them to release him. Now they are disregarding court ruling ordering his release. At this point the secret police had proven to be a rogue agency with no regard for the rule of law. How can an agency of the government violate bail order? Not once, not twice!!! We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to save democracy and image of the judiciary by immediately ordering the arrest of DSS DG for the rogue behaviour of his operatives. This cannot be allowed to continue. Also the DSS can’t rearrest Emefiele until he perfects his bail and released.”
Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko in Abuja, said that the open show by the DSS and NCS has revealed the decay in Nigeria, saying that Nigeria is becoming a “banana republic.”
This was as he urged the federal government to call the DSS to order as he said this would restore professionalism and discipline in the security outfit.
He said, “The government must call the DSS particularly to order and there has to be some kind of sanction administratively for this open show of shame.
“There is also the threat this event of a very despicable kind has on Nigeria and this will scare away willing foreign direct investors who would now think that Nigeria is in an autopilot position whereby the decisions of the competent courts of law are treated with disdain by a statutory law enforcement body such as the DSS.
“We ask the Federal government to stop allowing security officials paid from taxpayers money to continuously act in ways that depict the country as a very lawless contraption.
“We urge the Federal government to put an end to these cocktails of disgraceful public fights by officers of supposed law enforcement agencies. The other day it was between the DSS and the EFCC just before President Tinubu fiend the EFCC’S chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa and the DSS has since detained him for over a month without charge in a competent judicial forum.
“Today it is between the DSS and the Prison warders and this scuffle was conducted right before the general public and the story and pictorials from this show of shame must have been globally circulated meaning that Nigeria has suffered international opprobrium and her global standing sullied. President Tinubu must restore professionalism and discipline in all the law enforcement and security institutions in the country,” he concluded.
