The Department of State Services (DSS) has been ordered to indict the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, put him on trial, or release him on bail.
The Supreme Court of the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria issued the order on Thursday while hearing the case on its jurisdiction to hear Emefiele’s complaint against his arrest and detention by the DSS.
According to the court, the DSS should charge Emefiele in court within a week or release him on bail.
It should be recalled that on June 9, 2023, President Bola Tinubu suspended Emefiele as CBN governor, paving the way for his arrest and subsequent detention by the DSS.
However, the suspended Emefiele’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), alleged in court that his client’s human rights had been violated.
Defendants in the lawsuit are the Federation Attorney General; the Director-General of the DSS and the DSS, who lodged preliminary objections, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the case and moving for a dismissal.
On June 20, Justice Hamza Muazu was told by the DSS, through his attorney I. Awo that Emefiele’s detention was lawful as the DSS had received an order from an FCT court to detain him pending the completion of an investigation.
While AGF attorney Tijjani Ghazali (SAN) argued that Emefiele’s arrest and detention by the DSS was an administrative decision by the government’s executive branch, he urged the court to keep its distance.
Emefiele’s attorney disagreed, claiming the lawsuit was well founded.
However, after hearing arguments on Thursday, the court gave the DSS seven days to charge Emefiele in court or release him from detention.