Court Rules On Emefiele’s Detention Challenge Today

The fate of the basic human rights lawsuit Godwin Emefiele filed to contest his arrest and imprisonment by the Department of State Services will be decided today. He is the detained suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Recall that the DSS detained the governor of the top bank on June 10 just after President Bola Tinubu had removed him from office and commissioned an investigation into the CBN.

Emefiele claims that his human rights have been violated in the lawsuit he filed before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja through his attorney, Joseph Daudu (SAN).

The Attorney General of the Federation, the Director General of the DSS, and the DSS have all been named as respondents in the lawsuit. In preliminary objections, they have questioned the court’s authority to hear their case and requested that it be dismissed.

The DSS informed Justice Hamza Muazu at the June 20 sitting in the case that Emefiele’s detention was legal because the DSS had obtained an order from an FCT Chief Magistrates’Court to hold him in custody pending completion of the investigation.

AGF’s attorney, Tijjani Ghazali (SAN), urged the court not to get involved, saying that Emefiele’s arrest and incarceration by the DSS were administrative decisions made by the executive branch of government.

Justice Muazu postponed his decision on whether or not he has the authority to hear the case and take into account Emefiele’s pleas until today.