On Thursday, a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Maitama rejected a fresh application from the Department of State Services (DSS) to extend the detention of Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for an additional 14 days. The court ruled that the application was an abuse of the judicial process and that it lacked the jurisdiction to entertain it.
The DSS had filed the application, stating that they had uncovered new evidence requiring further detention of Emefiele to complete their ongoing investigation. They sought the court’s approval to hold him in custody for another 14 days.
However, during the court hearing, Justice Hamza Muazu questioned the jurisdiction of the high court to grant such an application, citing specific provisions in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, which stipulated that such orders should be issued by the Magistrate Court exclusively. In light of this observation, the counsel representing the DSS, Mr. Victor Ejelonu, withdrew the application.
Recall that on June 10, Emefiele was arrested by DSS operatives at his residence in Lagos, a day after being suspended as the CBN governor by President Bola Tinubu. He remained in custody until he was arraigned before the Federal High Court in Lagos on charges of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. The court granted him bail with certain conditions, but the DSS re-arrested him in the court premises, leading to controversy and accusations of disrespect towards the judiciary.
Lawyers, including Mr. Nnamdi Mba and Mr. C. C Nwodu, criticized the DSS for their actions, arguing that the security agency’s behavior amounted to intimidation of the courts and violated established procedures for custody after bail had been granted. They expressed relief that Justice Muazu courageously struck out the DSS’s application for further detention.
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