The suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has filed a suit before Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lagos, to stop the Federal Government from further prosecuting him on the charge of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunitions.
Emefiele’s suit, filed by his lawyer, Joseph Daudu, SAN, also requests that the court discharge him from all charges brought against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).
This is in response to the DSS’ conduct, which the former CBN Governor’s legal team has described as “brazen disobedience” of court orders by the DSS.
In his application, Emefiele urged the court to put a stop to all ongoing proceedings related to the charges until the government complies with the court’s bail ruling issued on July 25, 2023.
Emefiele’s legal team invoked Section 6(6)(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and pertinent sections of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, as well as the court’s inherent powers to file the application.
Victor Opara, SAN, a member of Mr. Emefiele’s defense team, has confirmed that the application filed on August 8 has been served to the Federal Government.
Mr. Opara explained that the application was filed to ensure compliance with the court’s orders and to prevent the court from being seen as a “toothless bulldog”.
According to report, the Federal Government had earlier filed an application asking the court to reconsider its ruling granting bail to Mr. Emefiele.
The application seeks a stay of execution of the bail order, and requests that Mr. Emefiele be remanded in the custody of the DSS instead of the Nigeria Correctional Services.
The application is scheduled to be heard by Justice Oweibo on Thursday, August 10.