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 next week or on any other day.
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 court must also not overlook the fact that he 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 travails started when President Bola Tinubu suspended him as the apex bank chief on June 9, 2023. A day later, the Department of State Services (DSS) confirmed that the embattled and suspended CBN chief was in its custody.
After several legal fireworks by ex-bank chief’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 in court.
On July 25, 2023, DSS agents drove Emefiele to a court in Lagos.
Appearing before Justice Oweibo, Emefiele, 61, pleaded “not guilty” to the two counts of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition filed against him by the Federal Government.
Later in August, the DSS withdrew its charges against Emefiele. The secret police freed the embattled ex-bank chief on October 26, just as the anti-graft commission detained him the same day.
