Tag: Godwin Emefiele

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Prison Officials Leave Court Without Emefiele

The officials of Nigeria Correctional Service has left the Federal High Court in Lagos without suspended Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele in their custody.
This happened after a tussle between prison officials and the DSS on Tuesday.
The NCS officials left after the intervention of a senior female operative of the Department of State Services.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos had earlier granted Emefiele bail after he was arraigned for illegal firearms possession but the DSS refused to allow the Prison officials to take custody of the former CBN governor as ordered by the court.
Meanwhile, a free-for-all ensued between officials of the two agencies with a senior-ranking prisons official seriously beaten.
Moments after the fight, a senior female DSS official arrived at the court and had a brief discussion with prison officials who later vacated the court.
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DSS Ignores Court Order, Returns Emefiele to Custody

The Department of State Services, has ignored an order of a court and returned the suspended governor of the Central Bank, CBN, Godwin Emefiele to custody, according to Punch.
The order by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos had granted Emefiele bail.
The court had earlier granted bail to Emefiele after he pleaded not guilty to the two counts charge bordering on the alleged illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo who granted the bail, ordered that Emefiele be remanded in prison until he fulfils his bail conditions.
However, officials of the secret police and their counterparts in the Nigerian Correctional Services were engaged in a physical fight over who would move Emefiele from the court.
A few minutes ago, officials of the DSS succeeded in taking the suspended governor of the apex bank away from the court.
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Emefiele: DSS Arrests Ikoyi Prison Boss On Court Premises

There was drama on Tuesday as operatives of Department of State Services arrested a top official of Ikoyi Prisons.
The incident happened at the premises of Federal High Court in Lagos State.
The arrest may not be unconnected with the tussle for who keeps custody of the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The Ikoyi prison official who was rough-handled and shuffled into the DSS vehicle was later released by the secret service operatives.
The PUNCH earlier reported that a mild drama played out at the Federal High Court, Lagos State, between DSS operatives and officials of Nigeria Correctional Service as they tussled over who keeps custody of Emefiele.
Emefiele was arraigned by the Federal Ministry of Justice for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition but was granted bail in the sum of N20m with one surety, following his “not guilty” plea.
As the defendant’s lawyers were trying to perfect his bail conditions, a mild drama played out within the court premises between DSS operatives who are fully hooded and NCS over who will take custody of the embattled CBN boss.
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Suspended CBN Governor, Emefiele Set To Apear In Court

Godwin Emefiele, the embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will appear before the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on Tuesday, July 25.

Emefiele was detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) following allegations levelled against him. He is due to enter his plea before Justice Nicholas Oweibo.

Recall that on June 10, DSS operatives visited Emefiele’s residence in Ikoyi, Lagos, a day after his suspension as CBN governor by President Bola Tinubu.

Emefiele has been in custody since his arrest, a move that DSS insists was authorized by an Abuja Chief Magistrate Court.

However, a group of human rights lawyers, led by Maxwell Okpara and Ahmed Tijani, have criticized Emefiele’s continued detention and accuse the DSS of ignoring existing court judgments.

In response to the alleged contempt, the lawyers filed a notice of consequences of disobedience to a court order (Form 48) and a request to commit the alleged contemnor to prison (Form 49) at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.

They also called for the dismissal of DSS Director General, Mr Yusuf Bichi, after the agency referred to them as “charge and bail lawyers” and sympathizers of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Twitter.

In a two-count charge (FHC/L/437/2023), the DSS has accused Emefiele of unlawfully possessing a single-barrel shotgun (Jojeff Magnum 8371) without a license and 123 rounds of live ammunition (cartridges), both violations of the Firearms Laws of the Federation 2004.

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I Won’t Interfere With Case — Emefiele Asks Court To Grant Him Bail

The suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has asked a federal high court in Lagos to grant him bail, TheCable reports.

Emefiele is seeking bail on self-recognisance pending the determination of the charge filed against him by the federal government.

On July 13, Peter Afunanya, spokesperson of the Department of State Services (DSS) confirmed that the agency has filed charges against Emefiele.

The DSS charged Emefiele with two counts bordering on alleged possession of firearms.

Although the case has been assigned to Nicholas Oweibo, a judge, Emefiele is yet to be arraigned.

The bail application, which is premised on nine grounds, was filed by a team of 10 lawyers led by Joseph Daudu.

Emefiele argued that the charges for which he was accused are bailable.

He said he has never been convicted of a crime and should enjoy the presumption of innocent until proven guilty, adding that he is not a flight risk.

Emefiele also said granting him bail would afford him adequate time to prepare his defence.

He added that since investigations have been concluded, there is no likelihood of interference on his part.

The defendant pledged to show up for trial on time and expressed his willingness to offer responsible sureties required by the court.

On June 9, President Bola Tinubu suspended Emefiele and asked him to transfer his responsibilities to Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, deputy governor, operations directorate.

The day after, the DSS announced that Emefiele was in its custody for “some investigative reasons”.

Emefiele has been in DSS custody since June.

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Court Orders Emefiele’s Release, Nullifies His Detention

Justice Bello Kawu has declared the arrest and continued detention of embattled former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, by the Department of State Services, DSS, null and void.

This is coming a day after a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja ordered Emefiele’s release.

Emefiele sought the court’s intervention against the Incorporated Trustees of the Forum for Accountability and Good Leadership, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Inspector General of Police, the State Security Service, and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The judge ruled that Emefiele’s arrest and detention were in violation of a previous ruling by Justice M. A. Hassan.

Emefiele’s counsel, Peter Abang, requested the court to invalidate his client’s arrest and detention, arguing it was in defiance of Justice M. A. Hassan’s ruling delivered on December 29, 2022.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Bello Kawu agreed that the arrest and detention violated Justice Hassan’s standing order.

The court also nullified any arrest warrant obtained by the DSS and ordered Emefiele’s release from custody.

Following the ruling, Emefiele’s counsel hailed the courage of Nigerian judges and urged the DSS to comply with the court order promptly.

He noted that Emefiele’s health had suffered during his one-month detention and insisted he should be allowed to tend to it.

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Why I Suspended CBN Governor, Emefiele – President Tinubu Addresses Nigerians In France

Nigeria’s number one man, President Bola Tinubu has talked about why he suspended Godwin Emefiele as the Central Bank Governor.

Tinubu says Emefiele was suspended because of how he messed up the financial system of the country.

The president had on June 9, suspended Emefiele to allow for investigation into some allegations levelled against him concerning his activities as the CBN governor.

President Tinubu who broke silence on the arrest and detention of Emefiele on Friday, during an interactive session with Nigerians residing in France and neighbouring countries, said the financial system was rotten under Emefiele.

He said “Then the financial system was rotten. Few people made bags of money and then you yourself, you stopped sending money home to our poor parents. Several windows. But that is gone now. It’s gone.

“The man is in the hands of the authorities. Something is being done about that. They will sort themselves out.”

SaharaReporters had also reported that the suspended Central Bank Gov., Emefiele was arrested by the Nigeria’s secret Police, the Department of State Services (DSS) for alleged economic crimes, sabotage, incitement to violence, stealing of public funds among others.

The DSS in an affidavit of facts presented in court while seeking an order of court to detained Emefiele had listed these reasons for arresting him.

It said Emefiele was arrested “upon reasonable suspicion of committing acts which constitute a criminal breach of trust, incitement to violence, criminal misappropriation of public funds, economic sabotage, economic crimes of national security dimension and undermining the security of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, the DSS and the Office of Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF) on Tuesday asked the Federal Capital Territory High Court not to grant bail to the suspended governor of the apex bank.

They argued that the suspended governor of the apex bank would flee the country if granted bail.

The DSS and the OAGF described Emefiele who is challenging his detention by the secret police as a “flight risk.”

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Stock Market Jumps To 15-Year High After Emefiele’s Suspension

The Nigerian stock market has risen dramatically, according to reports.

The stock market rose to its highest level since July 2008 on Tuesday, the first day of trading after the suspension of the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

According to a report by Bloomberg, investors are betting on a currency devaluation and sent the main index of the Nigerian Exchange to above 57,437 points, which contrasted with a flat performance for MSCI’s main emerging equity benchmark.

The report stated that this move takes the country’s stocks’ year-to-date gains to 11.8 per cent, almost double the six per cent return on the MSCI index.

It noted that the rally, which followed increased gains on Nigerian dollar bonds on Monday, reflected optimism over the policy signals from the newly elected President, Bola Tinubu.

The head of research at Chapel Hill Denham, Tajudeen Ibrahim, stated, “An improvement in the economy will enhance the performance of companies operating in the market.”

Since resuming office, the new president has scrapped fuel subsidy and recently suspended the apex bank’s governor, Emefiele.

The NGX Banking Index has since risen by 8.5 per cent to 570.64, its biggest advance in more than eight years.

Ibrahim, added, “The exchange rate convergence is expected to lead to improvement in liquidity in the foreign currency market and will increase trading activities for the banks.”

Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on the naira to fall towards its market value. The currency has fallen to 474 per dollar, with traders betting on further depreciation.

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DSS Seizes Emefiele’s Passport, Plans Home, Office Search

The passport of the suspended Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has been confiscated by the Department of State Services, The PUNCH reports.

The service, it was also learnt, may search Emefiele’s home and office this week.

Following his suspension on Friday as a result of the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector, the service arrested Emefiele in Lagos and flew him to Abuja in a private jet on Saturday.

The spokesperson for the service, Peter Afunanya, in a statement said Emefiele had been taken into custody and was under investigation.

However, a source in the DSS  on Sunday said it was standard procedure for his travel document to be seized pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.

The source added that the office and residence of the suspended apex bank governor would be searched.

The source said, “Of course, Emefiele’s travel document would be confiscated as part of the standard process pending the conclusion of our investigation. Also, as part of the investigation, his house and office would be searched for documents that can aid the ongoing investigation on his management of the CBN.”

The spokesperson for the service, Peter Afunanya, in a statement said Emefiele had been taken into custody and was under investigation.

However, a source in the DSS  on Sunday said it was standard procedure for his travel document to be seized pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.

The source added that the office and residence of the suspended apex bank governor would be searched.

The source said, “Of course, Emefiele’s travel document would be confiscated as part of the standard process pending the conclusion of our investigation. Also, as part of the investigation, his house and office would be searched for documents that can aid the ongoing investigation on his management of the CBN.”

Our correspondent had reported that other top directors of the CBN might also be invited or arrested for questioning over their roles in the administration of the apex bank.

It was learnt that the DSS might revisit the criminal charges it earlier filed against Emefiele which borders on terrorism financing and fraud.

The secret police similarly accused the suspended CBN box of mismanaging the CBN subsidiary, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending and the Anchor Borrowers Programme.

The DSS spokesman, Afunanya, could not be reached for comment on Sunday as calls to his line indicated that he was unreachable.

He had yet to respond to a text message on the detention of Emefiele as of the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN,  has said the DSS  lacked constitutional power to investigate and prosecute  Emefiele.

Falana in a message sent to one of our correspondents said Emefiele should be transferred to the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission who according to him, posses the legal right to prosecute Emefiele.

“A few months ago, the State Security Service levelled grave allegations of terrorism financing, money laundering, and other economic crimes against Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. At the material time, the attempt by the SSS to arrest, investigate, and prosecute Mr. Emefiele was frustrated by the erstwhile Buhari administration.

“However, following the suspension of Mr. Emefiele as the Governor of the CBN by President Bola Tinubu, the SSS quizzed him in Lagos and flew him to Abuja yesterday. According to media reports, the investigation of the suspect by the SSS has commenced. Even though the SSS which initially denied the arrest has since turned around to admit that Mr. Emefiele is in its custody.

“In the case of Dr. Bukola SarakI v. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2018) 16 NWLR (pt. 1646) 433-434, the Supreme Court ruled that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission lacks the vires to investigate and prosecute the appellant for the breach of the provisions of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. It was for that principal reason that Senator Saraki was freed by the apex court.

“In line with the principle of law enunciated by the apex court in Saraki’s case the SSS lacks the power to investigate and prosecute Mr. Emefiele in respect of allegations of money laundering and other economic crimes. Therefore, after investigating the alleged involvement of Emefiele in terrorism financing the SSS should transfer him to the EFCC for the purpose of investigating

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President Tinubu Appoints Folashodun Shonubi Acting CBN Governor

Mr Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi has been appointed as the acting Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.

Shonubi’s appointment followed the suspension of Godwin Emefiele as the CBN Governor on Friday.

Until his appointment, he was the Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate.

Bayo Onanuga, a media aide to Tinubu disclosed this in a post via his Twitter handle on Friday.

He wrote, “Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi is the CBN acting governor. He has been since October 2018, the Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate. He was born on the 7th of March, 1962. He attended the University of Lagos from 1978 to 1983 and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He also represents the CBN on the board of FIRS”.

Emefiele has been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), who will act as the Central Bank Governor pending the conclusion of investigation and the reforms.