By Abba Hamisu Sani
Africa-Press – Nigeria. After spending more than five Months in detention. Wednesday 8th of November was a moment for jubilation to all well wishes,families and Friends of the former Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN)Governor Mr. Godwin Emefele.
Emefele serves as the CBN governor for more than nine years ,from 2014 when President Jonathan suspended the former Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido Sunusi from the apex Bank leadership.
He was reappointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 for another five year term.
The former CBN governor initiated various programmes that are received with divergent views among economists.
One of them is Anchor borrower for farmers of rice and other Agro-commodities that the Buhari’s administration decided to promote in an effort to stop food importation.
Naira’s redesigned policy and its implications
Emefiele’s policy that will continue to linger in the minds of Nigerians is that of currency redesigned a few months before the 2023 elections ,this action created so much tension among Nigerians, as the time provided for the swap from old to new notes was very limited.
The currencies affected then were the high denominations of 1000,500 and 200 notes.
It was the high monetary crisis that Nigerians experienced in about four years.
This policy created tension between the Federal government Under Buhari and State governors that took the Central government to the Court in a move to stop the policy .
Politicians particularly members of the ruling party- APC were not happy with the decision as they said it was meant to target a particular candidate in the party.
Is the Emefiele Victim of his action?
After the 2023 election and the subsequent inauguration of President Bola Tinubu as the new President, a lot of speculation went round on the fate of CBN governor and that of EFCC chairman Abdurrashid Bawa.
The former apex bank chief was later suspended , arrested and detained by Nigeria Secret police DSS for months.The DSS was reported that it was suspecting Emefele of sponsoring terrorism and acquiring firearms illegally.
It could be recalled that DSS made several attempts to arrest him even prior to the 2023 elections but he was protected by the Nigerian army then.
After spending 151 days in detention Wednesday 8th of November Emefele regained his freedom as Abuja High Court granted him bail.
Many spectators are of the view that the former CBN ‘s target when introducing currency redesigned was to halt Tinubu’s chance of winning the Presidential election and Tinubu’s actions of arresting him is considered as revenge for what he did.
Court grants bail to embattled Emefele
Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court has granted former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, bail.
The judge ordered that Emefiele be released immediately to his lawyers, who were charged with the responsibility of producing him in court for his arraignment .
According to the judge, the ex-bank chief must also deposit his travel documents before the chief registrar of the court, pending his arraignment.
The judge also pointed out that there must be an end to detention, without trial.
The Federal Government must Obey the Bail Order
The Judge also said the court must also not overlook the fact that Emefele has been in detention for 151 days and the Federal Government and the Attorney General of the Federation must abide by court order.
The substantive motion on notice as well as the preliminary objection, were adjourned to November 17, 2023 for hearing.
Emefiele’s Long Travails
Emefiele’s travels started when President Bola Tinubu suspended him as the apex bank chief on June 9, 2023. A day after, the Department of State Services (DSS) confirmed that the embattled and suspended CBN Governor was in its custody.
After several legal fireworks by Emefiele’s counsel challenging his prolonged detention by the DSS, the secret police bowed to pressure on July 13, 2023 and announced that the suspended apex bank chief had been charged to court.
He was brought to a Lagos court by DSS operatives on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.
Appearing before Justice Oweibo, Emefiele, 61, pleaded “not guilty” to the two counts of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition filed against him by the Federal Government.
Later in August, the DSS withdrew its charges against Emefiele. The secret police freed the ex-bank chief on October 26 just as the anti-graft commission detained him the same day.
The EFCC had failed to produce Emefiele in court at the previous sitting on Monday but the anti-graft agency bowed to the order of the court and produced the former CBN chief to court on Wednesday for the hearing of his bail application.
Emefiele has been in the custody of security agencies for over 150 days.
Justice Adeniyi had on Monday, reaffirmed his order that the detained former CBN governor be brought to court today for the purpose of admitting him to bail.
At the resumed hearing, counsel for Emefiele, Mathew Burke, applied that his client be admitted to bail on liberal terms, having been in the custody of security agencies for 151 days. He made this application to Provisions of Section 35 (4a and b) of the 1999 constitution.
Federal Government objections to Emefiele’s bail unsuccessful
While objecting to the bail application, counsel for the Attorney General of the Federation and the Federal Government, Onyi Koleosho, pointed out that Emefiele was transferred to the custody of the EFCC on October 26, and that date is not up to two months.
He stated that a hearing notice has been issued by the court to the effect that Emefiele will be arraigned on November 15, 2023, in respect of a pending charge filed by the office of the AGF.
He said the court should decline the application for Emefiele’s release in the interest of justice, and to avoid a situation where the scheduled arraignment may interfere with investigations, adding that releasing him will pose further problems and difficulties for the prosecution to get him to attend court next week for his arraignment.
Counsel for the EFCC, Farouk Abdallah, agreed that the issue of bail is at the discretion of the court.
In a further submission, Counsel for Emefiele pointed out that his client has not been served any charge to date. He assured the court that the former CBN governor is not a flight risk and doesn’t have the capacity to stop his arraignment by the Federal Government next week.
Noting that his client has been in custody all this while, the lawyer noted that Nigeria would lose nothing by granting him bail.
During the proceeding, Emefiele was also given the room to address the court. He said he hasn’t been charged till date.
Counsel for the EFCC, however, said he is taken aback by these claims because when Emefiele was brought before a sister court (Justice Muazu), he was meant to take his plea.
The EFCC counsel further prayed the court to impose terms that are attainable for Emefiele to come to court on November 15 for him to take his plea.
Dr Monday Onyekachi Ubani is a Senior lawyer and former Nigerian Bar Association official.He said allot of work need to be done for Security Agencies to understand the objective behind criminal prosecution and prevention ,the idea is that ,the accused person at every point in time is presume to be innocent until contrary is proved.
He added that there is philosophy in criminal jurisprudence and that philosophy is that ,it is better for nine persons who are criminally liable to go scout free than for one innocent person to be wrongly convicted ,he said behind that principle is what happens in every part of criminal procedure,trial and sentencing, if you don’t understand it you run in to a problem.
The legal practitioner stated this Recently in an Interview with Arise news.
Dr. Monday Ubani also says the security Agencies need to understand these fundamental facts that at every point in time before you rain in an accused person who have alleged to commit an offence ,you must have done an eighty percent of your work interns of gathering sufficient evidence that can link him to the element of crimes as provided in the law ,if you don’t do that you are now raining for an individual and you begin to fish for an evidence ,that is the reasons we have this long detention without trial ,and that is a clear violation of the constitution.
“Section 35 has guarantee the liberty of every person including the security agent who may leave service tomorrow and become a victim, so is important we understand it and let it be in mind ,any time, you are going to arrest somebody do a sufficient work with regard to the establishment of evidence on the offence before you raining him ,if you don’t do that ,is not good to put him in custody at the end of it, if the victim is not found guilty ,how do you remedy the damage you have done to that Individual.” Dr. Ubani Said.
However ,now Emefele is granted bail by Justice Adeneyi of Abuja High court after a long stay in the Custody of DSS latter under EFCC.
His 151 days in the detention of these two security agencies is long over due according to the law as stated in section 35.
Such illegal detention is common in Nigeria .Abdurrashid Bawa who was the former EFCC chairman is also the victim of long detention,after he was arrested by Tinubu’s government without telling Nigerians his offence.
So what Dr.Monday Ubani said with regard to security agents who is an investigator that keeps suspects longer than necessary and should be careful as he might one time be a victim is what happened to Bawa ,so this is a pointer to all at the helm of affairs in Nigeria.
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