A Federal High Court in Lagos is poised to deliver a verdict on Thursday concerning the request for the withdrawal of charges against Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The application for withdrawal has been tabled by the Federal Government.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo has earmarked the specified date subsequent to hearing arguments from the involved parties in the case. Oweibo had previously deferred the hearing of two pending applications until Tuesday.
Among the applications under consideration, one was filed by the Federal Government with the intention to appeal the court’s decision to grant Emefiele bail on July 25. The second application, advanced by Emefiele himself, seeks to halt the government’s legal proceedings against him on allegations related to the illicit possession of firearms and ammunition.
However, during proceedings on Tuesday, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, the Director of Public Prosecutions at the Federal Ministry of Justice, made an impromptu oral application to retract the charges against Emefiele. This pivot was spurred by emerging developments that necessitate further investigation. He implored the court to sanction the withdrawal.
In response, Emefiele’s legal counsel, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), contested the application. Daudu contended that the government had disregarded the court’s directive to detain Emefiele in the confines of the Nigeria Correctional Service. Consequently, he contended that the government’s application should not be entertained by the court.
Daudu articulated his stance, stating, “We have an application asserting that the government has disregarded the court’s order stipulating that the respondent/defendant ought to be remanded at the Nigeria Correctional Service. The court issued an edict of alternate service to be published in three national dailies, and following this, the prosecution submitted an application to suspend the execution of the bail order.”
He additionally underscored that any petition for the withdrawal of charges should be formally documented. “In the pursuit of justice and to preclude any potential misuse of legal processes, I implore the court to decline the application and instruct the esteemed DPP to proceed with today’s scheduled proceedings,” he concluded.
It is noteworthy that on July 25, the court sanctioned Emefiele’s release on bail, stipulating a sum of N20 million, following his arraignment on charges linked to the unauthorised possession of firearms and ammunition. The court further directed that Emefiele remain in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service until the specified bail conditions were fulfilled.
However, at the culmination of proceedings on the same day, operatives from the State Security Service reapprehended Emefiele within the precincts of the court.
