In an unprecedented development, tensions flared between the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) in a face-off over the custody of Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), at the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo, presiding over the case, granted bail to Emefiele for the sum of N20m. The judge further instructed that Emefiele be held at a correctional center until the bail conditions were met. This ruling set the stage for a heated dispute between the DSS and NCS.
Following the judge’s instructions, DSS operatives maneuvered their Hilux Pick Up van, which had transported Emefiele to the court, in a way that indicated their intention to return him to their own detention facility.
This move raised alarm bells for Joseph Daudu, Emefiele’s leading attorney and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), along with the other lawyers. They expressed concern about an impending re-arrest of their client by the secret police.
In the wake of the court ruling, Emefiele and his legal team sought refuge within the courtroom. The situation escalated when NCS officials attempted to take Emefiele into custody in line with the judge’s orders and were contested by the DSS operatives, leading to a physical altercation.
To prevent a potentially dangerous confrontation, Emefiele’s lawyers relented, allowing the DSS to take their client into custody in defiance of the court’s orders. The NCS officials subsequently left the court premises, leaving the DSS in control of the situation.
SOURCE: Channels TV
IMAGE: The Pledge
VIDEO: YouTube
