In a fresh ruling, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court nullified the arrest and detention of suspended Central Bank governor Godwin Emefiele, despite his arraignment.
Daily trust report that, The ruling delivered on Friday by Justice Bello Kawu held that the arrest, detention, and interrogation of Mr Emefiele violated a 2022 ruling of Justice M. A. Hassan in the suit marked FCT/HC/GAR/CV/41/2022.
When the DSS wanted to arrest Mr. Emefiele before the general election, the 2022 decision was made. It went on to forbid Mr. Emefiele’s detention by describing the DSS’s efforts as “vindictive, unjustified, abrasive, oppressive and the same constitutes a flagrant breach of his rights to personal liberty and the dignity of the human person.”
According to Daily trust, In a statement released on Thursday night, the DSS acknowledged that it disregarded the judgement in order to charge Mr. Emefiele with fresh offences that weren’t covered by the 2022 ruling.
Through his lawyer, Peter Abang, Mr. Emefiele pleaded with the court to uphold the December 2022 decision to overturn his arrest and incarceration in Friday’s decision.
The Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Inspector-General of Police, the Department of State Service (DSS), the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Incorporated Trustees of the Forum for Accountability and Good Leadership, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were all named as defendants in the motion.
Mr. Kawu concurred with Mr. Emefiele’s attorney that his arrest, imprisonment, and questioning were against the law and in violation of a court order.
The court determined that Mr. Emefiele should be released and set aside any warrants of arrest that the DSS had obtained or procured for his arrest and questioning.
President Bola Tinubu dismissed Mr. Emefiele from his position as governor of the top bank last month, citing continuing investigations into his office.
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