Suspended CBN Gov Pleads Not Guilty, Granted N20m Bail,
OPERATIVES of the Department of State Service (DSS), on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 re-arrested the suspended Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, in the premises of the Federal High Court, Lagos, few hours shortly after he was granted bail by Justice Nicholas Oweibo.
Justice Oweibo had granted Emefiele bail in the sum of N20million for the two-count charge bordering on possession of a single barrel shot gun, as well as possession of 123 rounds of live ammunition without licence brought against him by the DSS.
But Emefiele pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following his plea, his Counsel, Mr. Joseph Daudu, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), told the court of a bail application filed on behalf of his client, which he said had been served on the prosecution, with a stamp of the Office of the Attorney General as proof.
But the prosecutor, Nkiru Jones-Nebo, a Deputy Director of Public Prosecution (DDPP), objected to the bail application on the grounds that she had not been served a copy of the application, despite her office being on the lookout for it.
She requested for time to respond by way of affidavit, since facts had been deposed, noting that since there was no sitting Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) at the moment, the defence could not have effectively served same.
But Daudu told the court that the prosecutor had no excuse not to respond to the bail application, insisting that same had been duly served on the prosecution’s office, arguing that the office of the AGF was a creation of statute and so cannot exist in a vacuum.
In his ruling, the Judge agreed with the submission of the defence counsel and urged him to move the defendant’s bail application.
Daudu, in moving the application, urged the court to admit the defendant to bail, as he was not a flight risk, being a reputable former governor of CBN, who had been kept in custody for long and had lost so much weight and so required medical attention.
He also informed the court that the defendant would be available to stand trial, adding that if the prosecutor had produced a witness, the defence would have been ready to proceed.
He, therefore, prayed the court to grant the defendant bail.
In response, the prosecutor opposed the bail application, alleging that he was a flight risk, having refused to submit his international passport.
She also argued that Emefiele, being a very influential citizen of Nigeria, could also interfere with the case and evidences intended to be led by prosecution.
In his ruling, Justice Oweibo agreed with the submission of the defence counsel on the grounds that the offence for which the defendant was charged was bailable.
The court held that bail could only be denied where any of the circumstances set out in Section 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act was established, holding that the prosecution did not furnish such circumstances before the court.
The court consequently granted bail to the defendant in the sum of N20 million, with one surety in like sum, who must depose to an affidavit of means and have a landed property.
The Judge ordered that the defendant be remanded in custody of the correctional service, pending perfection of his bail, and the correctional service personnel left with Emefiele.
The court subsequently adjourned the case until November 14, 2023 for trial.
There was commotion when Emefiele came out of the courtroom, led by a top officer of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), but was intercepted by DSS operatives, forcing Emefiele to retreat into the courtroom.
Rather than obey the court order granting Emefiele’s remand at the correctional centre, pending the perfection of his bail condition, DSS sent for reinforcement.
This led to fisticuffs between officers of the NCoS and DSS over who should take custody of the former CBN governor, ending in a free-for-all, as the DSS officers beat up the NCoS squadron commander, when he tried to resist their attempt to take Emefiele from him.
The NCoS officer was manhandled and the atmosphere became so charged as both federal government agencies corked their guns and threatened to open fire, even as litigants, court workers and journalists scampered for safety.
A few hours after the face-off between the two federal agencies, Emefiele reappeared from the court and was led into a waiting DSS vehicle, which took him away about 3:02pm.
An NCoS operative told journalists that they decided to withdraw following a directive from their Controller General in Abuja.
The NCoS officers subsequently brought a form for the DSS officers to sign, effectively handing Emefiele’s custody to them, which the DSS initially refused to sign, but eventually did about 30 minutes later.
Speaking to journalist later, Daudu explained: “We were in court and the court grated Emefiele bail. We further applied that pending when he will perfect the conditions of his bail, he should be moved from the custody of the DSS to the NCoS.
“The court, in its discretion, granted that he should be in correctional centre until he completes the terms of his bail.
“No sooner that was done, we noticed movements from the men of the DSS to take him back into their custody, despite the pending court order. We then drew the attention of the court to this, and the court was magnanimous to hear us.
“We told the court that in the interest of the rule of law and democratic process in this country, the court should intervene. So, the Judge sent for the officer in charge of DSS, who was armed to the teeth. The court asked me to repeat what I told him, and I did.
“However, his (DSS operative) response was that he was under instructions to secure the suspect, in other words, he was under the instructions of his boss, the Director General, to bring him.
“He has been brought to court and has been granted bail. You can see the vehicles of the DSS and that of the Correctional Service. I must tell you that because of the delay in perfecting the bail conditions, the officials of the Ikoyi Prison have legal obligations to take him to Ikoyi Prison.
“Ikoyi Prison is not far from the court and it’s a federal institution, why they want him into their custody is what beats my imagination. But what is more devastating is the fact that the DSS came to court with two-count charge and the court, in its discretion, granted him bail, but you still want to arrest the person, because the court said take him to correctional centre?
“He will soon come out; we cannot allow this type of stalemate to continue. You cannot have a warrant when you have come to court with a charge. The only warrant is the one issued by the court to take him to correctional service.
“So, if the DSS takes him into custody by force, then it tells a lot about the new administration. No court will leave you in the hands of your tormentor; it will take you away and put you in the hands of another government institution.
“What is the big deal with the DSS if not ego? What is the big deal in insisting in keeping him in their custody?”
On whether there was another pending case in Abuja against Emefiele, Daudu said: “In that case, a reproduction order will be issued. He is no longer in the hands of the DSS, you cannot be in disobedience of court order and at the same time use the machinery of the court to torment people. The case will never move.”
