Emefiele seeks court order to stop FG’s prosecution

Suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, to put an end to further prosecution from the Federal Government, through the Department of State Services.

Emefiele was arraigned by the DSS on July 25 for allegedly possessing a firearm illegally. He was ordered to be remanded in custody and admitted to bail, but the DSS then re-arrested him.

Emefiele is seeking an order from the court clearing him of all charges brought against him by the DSS in a new application before Justice Nicholas Oweibo. His attorneys, led by Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN, claim that the DSS’s actions were in “brazen disobedience” of the court orders granting 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.