After a struggle with members of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), the Department of State Services (DSS) on Tuesday re-arrested suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele.
Despite the fact that Justice Nicholas Oweibo had released Emefiele on bail after hearing his attorney Joseph Daudu (SAN)’s arguments, Emefiele was once again detained on the grounds of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
In addition, Justice Oweibo had ordered that the troubled former CBN governor be transferred from DSS custody and detained in a jail facility awaiting the completion of the bail requirements.
Lawyers for the CBN governor who had been suspended claimed that the DSS intended to re-arrest their client.
At the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday, Emefiele’s lead attorney, Daudu (SAN), said this.
Daudu alerted authorities to an alleged DSS plot to detain the troubled former CBN governor again despite the court’s decision to give him bail.
However, a conflict erupted between the DSS agents and the jail guards about who should retain Emefiele in their care.
A fight broke out when the secret police confronted the jail guards who attempted to arrest Emefiele.
The DSS allegedly whisked Emefiele out of the courthouse and into their waiting car while the prison officials left the courtroom in their vehicle.
Emefiele had entered a not guilty plea to the two charges of illegally possessing a weapon and ammunition that the federal government had brought against him.
Emefiele’s attorney, Daudu, requested the court to grant release on self-recognizance or on more lenient conditions awaiting the hearing and outcome of the trial in his comments.
He said, “The Federal Government has not filed a counter-affidavit challenging bail. Additionally, the defendant is a well-known banker who is confined to his home and is unable to leave.