Except for any last-minute changes, the Department of State Services is set to release the embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.
According to sources in the Presidency and the Ministry of Justice, Emefiele was to be officially handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Thursday for prosecution.
This development is coming a day after the release of the former EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa.
Emefiele has been in the custody of the DSS since June 10, 2023 over his alleged involvement in fraud and several other offenses.
On July 25, Emefiele was arraigned on a two-count charge over “illegal possession” of firearms at a Federal High court in Ikoyi and was granted N20 million bail.
The presiding judge, Nicholas Oweibo, had ordered that Emefiele should be kept in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service pending the fulfillment of his bail conditions.
But the DSS insisted that Emefiele must return to its custody, a development that led to the face-off between the secret police and prison officials.
After the face-off, DSS rearrested Emefiele at the court premises.
A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal has recently expressed his disapproval of President Bola Tinubu’s administration for the continued detention of Abdulrasheed Bawa and Godwin Emefiele.
Bawa, the first EFCC boss who did not rise from the ranks of the Nigerian police, was taken into custody by the Department of State Services on June 14, shortly after the president suspended him from his position while Emefiele, the former CBN governor, was apprehended on June 9 at his residence in Lagos.
Their prolonged detention without trial has raised serious questions about the rule of law and due process.
Babachir Lawal, sharing the concerns of many, voiced his opinion in a statement released on Wednesday last week.
He emphasized the importance of upholding the principles of freedom of speech and human rights in Nigeria, stating, “If Bola Tinubu claims he fought Abacha on the side of democracy and free speech, it is unbecoming and unacceptable that the NBC should threaten journalists under his watch.”
Lawal went on to criticize the continued detention of both Bawa and Emefiele, saying, “It is indefensible to keep the EFCC Chairman and the CBN governor under arrest for extended periods of time without or before trial.”
