A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court at Maitama, Abuja, on has, ordered the State Security Service (SSS) to either file charges against the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, or release him, within one week.
The SSS had arrested Mr Emefiele at his home in Lagos on 9 June, a Saturday, and flown him to their headquarters in Abuja to face interrogations.
The spy agency has been holding him in custody without charge since then.
Delivering a ruling on Godwin Emefiele’s fundamental human rights enforcement suit on Thursday, 34 days since his arrest, the judge, Hamza Muazu, gave the agency the options of either releasing or charging him in court.
He held that the Nigerian constitution is rooted in the rule of law and presupposes that all actions must be done according to the law.
“Detention, no matter how small, can amount to a breach of fundamental rights,” Muazu said.
He noted that since allegations levelled against the suspended CBN governor were ordinarily bailable offences, SSS ought to grant him administrative bail pending his trial.
Recall that the SSS accused the former CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele of terrorism finances and other weighty offences during the dying days of the immediate-past administration of then President Muhammadu Buhari.
The agency made a futile move to obtain a court order for his arrest. The Federal High Court in Abuja, where the request was sought, dismissed SSS’ application for the arrest order on the grounds of improper procedure.
But barely 10 days after President Bola Tinubu assumed office, he ordered the suspension of Mr Emefiele from office on allegations that were not disclosed.
The next day, SSS operatives picked him up in Lagos and flew him to Abuja for interrogation.
But worried that they could not gain access to him in custody, his lawyers and family filed a suit on his behalf.
Muazu, in a ruling on an earlier request, on 16 June, ordered that the lawyers be permitted access to Mr Emefiele in custody.
‘Continued detention not justified’
In a further ruling on Thursday, Muazu held that Godwin Emefiele’s continued detention without trial amounted to a gross violation of his fundamental human rights.
The court, however, referenced an order from an Abuja Chief Magistrate Court permitting SSS to detain Emefiele for a period of 14 days to enable it to conclude its investigations.
With this, the judge held that Emefiele could not prove that his arrest, detention and investigation was unlawful since it was based on a valid court order.
He described SSS as a reputable institution mandated to guarantee the country’s internal security.
Therefore, the judge said the agency must conduct its operations with strict adherence to the provisions of the Constitution.
“Though, I am in sympathy with the applicant (Emefiele), my sentiment will not go far to deliver judgement by granting all the reliefs sought by the applicant.
“The applicant has not shown that his arrest, detention and investigation were unlawful.
“However, I am concerned that the application is not without merit. The Applicant is entitled to fair hearing.
“At this point, the continued detention of the applicant cannot be justified in the absence of any charge against him.
“At the very least, justice demands that Applicant should be released on administrative bail.
“Consequently, I hereby make an order, directing the respondents to, within one week, charge the applicant to court or release him on administrative bail,” the court held.
The suit was filed on behalf of Emefiele by his lawyer, Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
Emefiele pursued an unpopular naira redesign policy that brought untold hardship upon many Nigerians during the Buhari administration.
The policy put him on the line of verbal attack from President Tinubu, who was then campaigning for office ahead of the last presidential election in February.
Since coming to office, Tinubu had attacked Emefiele, accusing him of destroying Nigeria’s financial system.