An FCT High Court in Maitama has dismissed a secretly filed application by the Department of State Services (DSS) seeking an order to detain the suspended former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, for an additional 14 days based on newly discovered evidence. The application, marked FCT/HC/M/12105/2023, was heard by Justice Hamza Muazu after being quietly filed by DSS lawyers.
The judge struck out the application, citing it as an abuse of court process and lacking jurisdiction. During the proceedings, the judge questioned DSS counsel Victor Ejelonu about the court's jurisdiction, pointing out that exclusive rights to grant detention orders lie with the Magistrate Court as per Sections 293 and 296 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act. As a result, the counsel withdrew the matter.
This move by the DSS has been perceived as an attempt to legitimize their actions in Lagos, where they took Mr. Emefiele from the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service. The application faced widespread condemnation and outrage. Nnamdi Mba, an Abuja-based Constitutional lawyer, criticized the DSS for charging someone in court while disregarding the same court's authority, describing their actions as an attempt to intimidate the judiciary.
Another lawyer, C. C. Nwudo, explained that once a defendant is granted bail, it is the duty of the court, not the security agency, to determine where the person will be held in custody.
However, the DSS abducted Emefiele from the Correctional Service and then sought an order to detain him for another 14 days, despite having already held him for over six weeks and obtaining two previous detention orders for 28 days.
The lawyers agree that the abduction of Emefiele without a court order is unlawful and criminal. With the court dismissing their application, the DSS is now in a difficult position to continue detaining him further. They cannot hold him illegally, and obtaining another magistrate order to override the High Court's decision is unlikely as the High Court lacks jurisdiction to grant such an order.
Overall, this case has been seen by many as persecution and a personal vendetta against Mr. Emefiele, and the DSS has faced multiple setbacks in their attempts to detain him.