The FCT High Court, Abuja on Friday faulted the continued detention of the suspended Central Bank governor, Godwin Emefiele without trial.
The court presided over by Justice Bello Kawu ordered the Directorate of State Services to charge the detained governor of the CBN to a court or set him free.
The ruling was made barely 24 hours after another FCT high court issued a seven-day ultimatum to the DSS to charge Emefiele or release him.
According to Obed Agu who represented Emefiele in court, the order made by Justice Kawu bordered on the enforcement of an earlier judgement of the high court which was delivered by Justice M.A. Hassan restraining the security service from apprehending the suspended governor.
However, without recourse to the order by Justice Hassan, Emefiele was arrested and detained without appealing the judgement.
The court in enforcing the ruling which was ignored by the DSS through Emefiele’s recent arrest and detention on June 10 ordered that the applicant (Emefiele) be charged to court or released within the constitutional provision.
The ruling followed an application filed by Emefiele’s lawyer, Peter Abang, against the Incorporated Trustees of Forum for Accountability and Good Leadership, the Attorney General of the Federation, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Inspector General of Police, State Security Service and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The plaintiff asked the court to declare that the arrest, detention, and interrogation of Emefiele are illegal because there is a subsisting order of Justice M. A. Hassan in Suit No. FCT/HC/GAR/CV/41/2022 stopping the state service from arresting Emefiele.
Given the expiration of the detention order, the judge ordered the DSS to charge the suspended governor to court or free him.
Speaking on Friday, Agu said, “The ruling of this court is an enforcement of the judgement of the high court delivered by Justice M.A. Hassan saying you cannot arrest or detain Mr Emefiele on trumped up charges of terrorism financing.”
“However, because they did not obey that judgement of the court, they went ahead and detained him; Godwin Emefiele had through his lawyers approached this court to enforce that same judgement.”
“In enforcing that same judgement, the court has just said, release this man or because you have authority to arrest and investigate, charge him to court within the constitutional provision, which is within 48 hours.”
“We don’t say you cannot arrest him…We don’t say you cannot investigate. You can investigate. it is within your authority to do that, and the law permits you to do that.”
“But in doing it, do it within the confines of the Nigerian constitution as amended.”
Agu added that even with a charge, the embattled Emefiele ought not to be charged with the former issues dealt with in the earlier judgement by Justice Hassan which were among others, terrorism financing.(PUNCH)
