Amid an avalanche of criticisms and condemnation of the two-count charge by the Department of State Security (DSS) against the suspended former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, a group of legal professionals and practitioners have filed an application for contempt proceedings against the director-general (DG) of the organisation, Yusuf Bichi, for failure to obey the order of the Federal High Court, Abuja for his release.
On June 9, 2023, the Emefiele who was suspended from office on the orders of President Ahmed Tinubu following ongoing investigation into certain undisclosed infractions in his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy.
Following his suspension from office, Emefiele was arrested by the DSS and detained for over a month until a Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered last week for his immediate release or arraignment in court for trial over any offence he may have been found to have committed.
The court order was sequel to an application by lawyers representing the former CBN governor seeking for the protection of his fundamental human rights as provided for in the Nigerian Constitution and Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
Although the DSS partially complied with the court’s order by arraigning Emefiele on a two-count charge of illegal possessing one unlicensed shotgun and 123 rounds of live ammunition, the State Security service has continued to hold him in its custody
Part of the former CBN governor’s offences are that his possession of the gun and ammunition without licence contravened Section 4 of the Firearms Act Cap F28 of the Federation 2004, punishable on conviction under the provisions of Section 27(1)b(i) and Section 27(1)b(ii) of the law.
On Monday, several civil and human rights activists as well as lawyers and legal experts faulted DSS charge against Emefiele and demanded his immediate release.
Apparently to sustain the pressure on the DSS, some of the lawyers filed an application before the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking an order for the DG of DSS to free Emefiele from its custody in view of the recent ruling ordering his release.
The lawyers in their application made reference to the orders by the FCT High Court, Garki, presided by Justice M. A. Hassan, on the matter.
Also, they cited the ruling by Justice Hamza Mu’azu of the FCT High Court as well as Justice Bello Kawu of the FCT High Court, Apo, who equally ordered the DSS to act expeditiously in releasing Emefiele from detention.
Led by Maxwell Opara and Ahmed Tijani, the lawyers requested the court to commit the DG DSS to prison for serial contemptuous violation of the court orders on the matter.
In an order delivered on December 29, 2022, M. Hassan, had barred the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from arresting Emefiele over allegations of “financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.”
Regardless, following the suspension of the embattled former governor of the CBN on June 9, and subsequent appointment of the Deputy Governor of CBN in charge of the operations Directorate, Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, as the acting Governor of CBN, the DSS arrested and detained Emefiele for reasons the agency described as “investigative”.
On July 13, Justice Muazu ordered the Service to release the suspended CBN governor or charge him to court. On Friday, Justice Kawu also ordered the DSS to release Emefiele within 48 hours, or charge him in court for any offence preferred against him.
In the affidavit file in support of their application, the lawyers averred that in spite “of the clear and positive orders of Justice Hassan, the State Security Service still went ahead to arrest and detain Mr Emefiele and has so detained him for well over a month, while shopping for evidence which does not exist”.
Opara assured that members of his group were determined to pursue the matter to its logical conclusion and ensure that the DSS DG was jailed for the flagrant disobedience of court order and the abuse of the rule of law.
“Is it not now clear enough to Nigerians that the SSS is persecuting Mr Emefiele. If after holding him for five weeks they can only file a ridiculous charge of possessing a validly registered pump action gun?
“If possessing a validly registered pump action gun is a crime worthy of being held in perpetuity, what has the SSS done to the person threatening Nigerians from a particular section of the country with an assault rifle?
“This clearly shows that the travail of Mr Emefiele is more for political reasons than for any other,” the group said.
