Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has urged a Federal High Court in Lagos to halt the Federal Government Department of State Services (DSS) from pursuing any legal action against him.
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.Emefiele asks the court to halt further proceedings in the current charge until he has exhausted all legal options to force the government and the DSS to comply with the court’s order admitting him to bail or remanding him in custody until he completes the terms of his bail, citing Section 6(6)(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), pertinent sections of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, and the inherent powers of the court.
He is requesting the court’s authority to implement its orders in the application so as to avoid being perceived “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.