A group of constitutional lawyers, led by Barr. Tijani Ahmed,
has made an urgent request to President
Bola Tinubu to summon the Department of
State Services (DSS). This request comes in the aftermath of a clash between
the DSS and the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) over the custody of the
suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Previously, Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in
Lagos granted bail to Emefiele in the amount of N20 million, ordering that he
be remanded in prison until the bail conditions were fulfilled. However, the
DSS disregarded the judge’s orders and attempted to take him into custody
against the court’s decision.
The lawyers issued a statement condemning the unprofessional and
shameful actions of the DSS, questioning how such a breach of the judiciary’s
authority could occur in a democracy.
According to reports, after the court ruling, DSS operatives
strategically positioned their vehicle to seemingly abduct Emefiele and take
him to their detention center. This prompted Emefiele’s legal counsel and other
lawyers to raise an alarm about the planned re-arrest by the secret police. As
the prison officials moved to take Emefiele into custody pending the
fulfillment of his bail conditions, a confrontation ensued between the DSS and
the correctional service.
The lawyers expressed grave concern over the DSS’s repeated
disregard for court rulings regarding Emefiele. They accused the DSS of acting
as a rogue agency with no regard for the rule of law. They urged President Bola
Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and restore the image of the judiciary and democracy
by holding the DSS Director-General accountable for the actions of the agency’s
operatives. The lawyers emphasized that such behavior cannot be allowed to
continue.
In conclusion, the lawyers emphasized that the DSS should not
rearrest Emefiele until he has fully satisfied his bail conditions and been
lawfully released.
