Following an ultimatum given to the Department of State Service (DSS) to charge Godwin Emefiele to court or release him from detention in seven days, the DSS has announced that the embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been charged to court.
This was disclosed in a press statement signed by Peter Afunanya, Public Relations Officer of the DSS, on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
The statement by the DSS reads “Sequel to an Abuja High Court Order of today, 13th July, 2023, the Department of State Services (DSS) hereby confirms that Mr Godwin Emefiele has been charged to Court in compliance with the Order.
“The public may recall that the Service had, in 2022, applied for a Court Order to detain him in respect of a criminal investigation. Though he obtained a restraining Order from an FCT High Court, the Service, however, arrested him in June, 2023, on the strength of suspected fresh criminal infractions/information, one of which forms the basis for his current prosecution.
“The Service assures the public of professionalism, justice and fairness in handling this matter and indeed the discharge of its duties within the confines of the law”.
Emefiele, who has been detained since June 9, accused the DSS of infringing on his constitutional rights to liberty, freedom of movement, and fair hearing in his action marked: FCT/HC/CV/6450/23.
This necessitated an Abuja High Court sitting in Maitama to order the release of the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, from prison or charge him to court within seven days.
The court ruled in a decision delivered by Justice Hamza Muazu that Emefiele’s continuing incarceration without trial constituted a grave violation of his fundamental human rights.
