DSS Disobeys Court Order, Beats up Correctional Officers, Re-arrests Emefiele

•Suspended CBN governor pleads not guilty, granted N20m bail

•Ezekwesili, HURIWA blast DSS over former apex bank governor’s arraignment

Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Wale Igbintade in Lagos

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday re-arrested the suspended Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, in the premises of the Federal High Court, Lagos, few hours after he was granted bail by Justice Nicholas Oweibo.

The re-arrest attempt turned riotous when Emefiele came out of the courtroom, led by a squadron commander from the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), but was intercepted by DSS operatives, which caused Emefiele to retreat back into the courtroom.

While Emefiele’s lawyers were busy perfecting his bail conditions, DSS sent for reinforcement. The mood in the court immediately changed, as DSS personnel engaged in fisticuffs over who should take custody of the former CBN governor.

It became a free-for-all, as the DSS officers beat up the NCoS squadron commander, when he tried to resist their attempt to take Emefiele from him. They thoroughly manhandled the correctional officer in whose custody the judge had ruled Emefiele should be, pending perfection of his bail.

The situation became so messy that both the DSS personnel and the NCoS officers corked their guns and were ready to shoot, as court workers and journalists scampered for safety.

However, few hours after the face-off between the two federal agencies, Emefiele reappeared from the court and was led into a waiting DSS vehicle, which took him away about 3:02pm.

One of the operatives of the correctional service told THISDAY that they decided to withdraw following the directive from the Controller General of the NCoS in Abuja.

Following the directive from Abuja, the correctional officials brought a form for the DSS to sign, effectively handing Emefiele’s custody to DSS. But the DSS initially refused to sign, it but eventually signed after some back and forth that lasted about another 30 minutes.

Earlier, the trial judge had granted Emefiele bail in the sum of N20 million for alleged illegal possession of firearms.

Emefiele is standing trial on a two-count charge bordering on possession of a single barrel shot gun, as well as possession of 123 rounds of live ammunition without licence. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. Following his plea, defence counsel, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Joseph Daudu, informed the court of a bail application filed on behalf of the defendant.

Daudu, who led four other Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), told the court that the bail application had been served on the prosecution, adding that there was a stamp of the office of the Attorney General as proof.

But the prosecutor, a Deputy Director of Public Prosecution (DDPP), Nkiru Jones-Nebo, objected to the bail application on the grounds that she had not been served a copy of the application. Jones-Nebo informed the court that her office had been on the lookout for a possible bail application of the defendant but did not see any.

Alleging that she had just been aware of the application in court, Jones-Nebo requested for time to respond by way of affidavit, since facts had been deposed.

Besides, Jones-Nebo noted that since there was no sitting Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) at the moment, the defence could not have effectively served same.

But defence counsel told the court that the prosecutor had no excuse not to proceed today in response to the bail application, as same had been duly served on the prosecution’s office.

Daudu argued that the office of the AGF was a creation of statute, and so cannot exist in a vacuum.

In his ruling, the judge agreed with the submission of the defence counsel, and urged him to move the defendant’s bail application.

Moving the application, Daudu urged the court to admit the defendant to bail as he was not a flight risk, being a reputable former governor of CBN. He told the court that the defendant had been kept in custody for long and had lost so much weight and so required medical attention.

The defence counsel also informed the court that the defendant would be available to stand trial, adding that assuming the prosecutor had produced a witness, the defence would have been ready to proceed.

Daudu urged the court to grant the defendant bail.

In response, the prosecutor informed the court that they were opposed to the bail application of the defendant and alleged that he was a flight risk

Jones-Nebo told the court that the defendant had refused to submit his international passport, which indicated flight risk.

Besides, she argued that Emefiele, being a very influential citizen of Nigeria, could also interfere with the case and evidences intended to be led by prosecution. She urged the court to refuse bail.

In his ruling, Oweibo agreed with the submission of the defence counsel on the grounds that the offence for which the defendant was charged was bailable.

The court held that bail could only be denied where any of the circumstances set out in section 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act was established. The court held that the prosecution did not furnish such circumstances before the court.

The court consequently granted bail to the defendant in the sum of N20 million with one surety in like sum. The court held that the surety must depose to an affidavit of means and have a landed property.

Oweibo urged that the defendant be remanded in custody of the correctional service, pending perfection of his bail, and the correctional service personnel left with Emefiele.

The court had earlier adjourned the case until November 14 for trial.

In the charge, the prosecutor told the court that the defendant who resides at No. 8 Colorado Street in Maitama, Abuja, committed the offence on June 15, at No. 3b Iru close, Ikoyi Lagos.

Emefiele was alleged to have in his possession a single barrel shot (Jojeff Magnum 8371) without licence. The defendant was also alleged to have in his possession 123 rounds of live ammunition cartridges, without licence. The offence contravenes the provisions of sections 4 and 8 of the Firearms Act, Cap F28, Laws of the Federation, 2004.

Meanwhile, Emefiele’s lead counsel, Daudu, accused the DSS of affront and disobedience of court order. Daudu stressed that the DSS could not be in disobedience of court order and at the same time use the machinery of the court to torment people.

Daudu stated, “We were in court and the court grated Emefiele bail. We further applied that pending when he will perfect the conditions of his bail, he should be moved from the custody of the DSS to the NCoS.

“The court, in its discretion, granted that he should be in correctional centre until he completes the terms of his bail.

“No sooner that was done, we noticed movements from the men of the DSS to take him back into their custody, despite the pending court order. We then drew the attention of the court to this, and the court was magnanimous to hear us.

“We told the court that in the interest of the rule of law, and democratic process in this country, the court should intervene. So, the judge sent for the officer in charge of DSS who was armed to the teeth. The court asked me to repeat what I told him, and I did. However, his (DSS operative) response was that he was under instructions to secure the suspect, in other words he was under the instructions of his boss, the Director General, to bring him.

“He has been brought to court, and has been granted bail.  You can see the vehicles of the DSS and that of the Correctional Service. I must tell you that because of the delay in perfecting the bail conditions, the officials of the Ikoyi Prison have legal obligations to take him to Ikoyi Prison.

“Ikoyi Prison is not far from the court and it’s a federal institution, why they want him into their custody is what beats my imagination. But what is more devastating is the fact that the DSS came to court with two-count charge, and the court in its discretion granted him bail, but you still want to arrest the person, because the court said take him to correctional centre.”

The SAN added, “He will soon come out; we cannot allow this type of stalemate to continue. You cannot have a warrant when you have come to court with a charge. The only warrant is the one issued by the court to take him to correctional service.

“So, if the DSS takes him into custody by force, then it tells a lot about the new administration. No court will leave you in the hands of your tormentor. It will take you away and put you in the hands of another government institution. What is the big deal with the DSS if not ego? What is the big deal in insisting in keeping him in their custody?”

On whether there was another pending case in Abuja against Emefiele, Daudu said, “In that case a reproduction order will be issued. He is no longer in the hands of the DSS, you cannot be in disobedience of court order and at the same time use the machinery of the court to torment people. The case will never move.”

Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, yesterday, condemned the arraignment of the suspended CBN governor over alleged possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Reacting to what took place between DSS and NCoS, Ezekwesili, in a post shared on her Twitter handle, slammed the secret security agency over its treatment of Emefiele.

She wrote, “The DG of @OfficialDSSNG who without decorum publicly advertises that he is a close friend of @officialABAT, obviously thinks the average IQ of sensible Nigerians is as low as that of the politicians he has reduced that agency of @NigeriaGov to serve.

“Stop embarrassing yourselves and tell us the truth of the Emefiele matter jooo. Be guided

“@OfficialDSSNG must immediately apologise to Nigerians for daring to take citizens for a ride on this Emefiele’s court case.

“Imagine. So after all the monetary policy damage his boss @MBuhari and the former @cenbank committed against the Nigerian economy and people, it is for ‘illegal possession of firearms’ that State Security charged him to court? Nonsense.”

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) also condemned what it described as the show of shame orchestrated by the DSS, when it engaged officials of the correctional service in fisticuffs over the custody of the suspended CBN governor.

HURIWA described the incident as an “unmitigated image disaster for Nigeria”, adding that President Bola Tinubu should do something urgently to restore professionalism and discipline in the two institutions.

The civil rights advocacy group, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, noted that the open disrespect of the unambiguous order of the presiding judge that Emefiele be detained at the Lagos correctional centre pending the fulfilment of his bail conditions, showed that Nigeria was almost going down the drain and if not checked, could snowball into a banana republic. 

Onwubiko stated, “The government must call the DSS particularly to order and there has to be some kind of sanctions administratively for this open show of shame, except and unless the entire drama, which has muddied the global public relations image of Nigeria, was choreographed by the DSS and prison warders on the express order of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

“Aside the issue of a clear and present danger that the Nigerian government has allowed the institutions of the federation to be populated by some persons with no regard to public decency, professionalism, discipline and ethics, there is also the threat this event of a very despicable kind has on Nigeria and this will scare away willing foreign direct investors who would now think that Nigeria is in an autopilot position whereby the decisions of competent courts of law are treated with disdain by a statutory law enforcement body, such as the DSS.”