The Federal High Court in Abuja has refused an application by the Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest and detain the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele
Chief judge of the court, Justice John Tsoho declined the request on grounds that the allegations of terrorism made against the respondent were too severe, but without any evidence to support them.
An affidavit submitted by the dss contained allegations of fraudulent activities bordering on economic crimes of national security dimension.
But the court noted that the DSS had not only failed to disclose the status of the respondent, but also failed to show evidence of approval by the president before proceeding against a holder of such sensitive public office.
Justice Tsoho maintained that the CBN governor which the DSS purports to arrest was seen on television a night before, in audience with the president, observing that it seems the service intended to use the court as a cover for something irregular which is not acceptable.
The judge therefore declined to grant the exparte order, holding that if the DSS feels it has sufficient evidence to arrest the CBN governor, it can go ahead without seeking the order of the court, otherwise the service should put the respondent on notice
Earlier on Monday, a protest was held in abuja by a group accusing the DSS of attempting to frame the CBN governor in order to get him arrested and removed from office. The protesters under the aegis of the coalition of national interest defenders also raised the alarm that a suit had already been filed at the federal high court by the DSS against Emefiele.
The DSS in its response on monday evening said it will continue to disseminate actionable intelligence on matters of national security for the overall interest of nigeria.
The service in a statement signed by its public relations officer, peter afunanya, said it will not join issues, but warned those it says are “on a wild goose chase to be mindful of their actions”.
It insists that “the service will not be distracted by the persons and/or groups from carrying out its duties to the nation, citizens, president and commander-in-chief”, advising citizens to avoid being used to thwart or undermine lawful investigations, threatening to deal with those who act in the breach.