A group of constitutional and human rights lawyers led by Mr. Maxwell Opara and Ahmed Tijani, have filed a contempt charge and commenced committal proceedings against the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi for violation of multiple judgements and orders of court directing the release of the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele, from it custody.
The group, in their motion filed before the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja for the issuing of Form 48, which is the notification of consequences of disobedience to a court order, and Form 49, which seeks to commit an alleged contemnor to prison, said by the judgements and orders of Justice M. A. Hassan, Justice Hamza Muazu and Justice Bello Kawu, the DSS DG ought to have released Emefiele from detention.
They then prayed the Court to commit Mr. Bichi to prison until he purges himself of the contempt.
Recall that in an order delivered on December 29, 2022, M. Hassan, barred the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from arresting Emefiele over allegations bordering on “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.”
Also recall that after the suspension of the CBN governor by President Tinubu on June 6, the DSS announced that Emefiele was in its custody for “some investigative reasons”. Since then Emefiele has been in their custody with the service insisting that it obtained a valid court order to keep him.
However, On July 13, Muazu ordered the service to release the suspended CBN governor or charge him to court. Shortly after, the DSS announced that it has charged Emefiele to court.
On Friday, Kawu also ordered the service to release Emefiele within two days or charge him in court.
The Lawyers, in the affidavit in support of their application, averred that in spite “of the clear and positive orders of justice Hassan, the State Security Service still went ahead to arrest and detain Mr Emefiele and has so detained him for well over a month, while shopping for evidence which does not exist”.
Speaking to newsmen after filing their case, Opara said the group would pursue the matter to its logical conclusion and ensure that Bichi is sent to prison to serve as a deterrent to other heads of security agencies and top government officials that contempt of court and gross abuse of their offices for personal vendetta will no longer be tolerated.
He also called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately relieve Bichi of his appointment as the DSS DG for having allegedly misled the president that Emefiele had committed heinous crimes against the state only for him to now file a charge of possession of a validly registered pump action rifle against the suspended CBN governor.
“If possessing a validly registered pump action gun is a crime worthy of being held in perpetuity, what has the SSS done to the person threatening Nigerians from a particular section of the country with an assault rifle?
“This clearly shows that the travail of Mr Emefiele is more for political reasons than for any other,” he said.