A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the immediate release of former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, from the custody of the Department of State Security, DSS.
The presiding judge, Justice Hamza Muazu, while ruling on the allegation of violation of his (Emefiele) fundamental human rights brought before the court by the suspended CBN governor, said his arrest by the DSS violated his human rights.
Muazu further said the way the DSS went about the arrest as if Emefiele was a criminal seems politically motivated.
While the DSS insisted that the detention of the suspended CBN Governor was lawful, the court held that it was unlawful for the Federal Government to continue to detain Emefiele without charging him to court.
The court, therefore, gave the DSS seven days to bring Emefiele before it with reasonable charges or release him in the absence of such.
Reacting to the ruling, Counsel for the plaintiff and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Joseph Daudu, urged the federal government to obey the decision of the court in the interest of justice.
According to Chief Daudu, his client is expected to be released today on administrative bail as he (Daodu) doesn’t expect President Tinubu, who fought against military intervention and disobedience for the rule of law, start his government on the note of disobeying court orders.
