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Here is a cautionary advice on the ongoing prosecution of the suspended and detained Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele. The litany of allegations of human rights violations and diregard for the rule of law levelled against the Department of State Services(DSS), is fast drawing public empathy and support to his side. The world is watching. Potential investors, local and foreign, are also taking keen interest in his trial. Emefiele could well end up as a heroe of some sort, and a victim of Executive lawlessness. The same holds true of the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, who is equally in detention. Being perceived as victims of executive lawlessness, is the view of many lawyers in this matter. At least two prominent legal practitioners, and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba, and Mike Ozekhome, have spoken of what this portends for the country. “Nobody, Agbakoba told Business Day newspaper, “will invest in a disorderly, volatile environment, not even local investors because risk is the most important thing in an investment decision”. The risk , he argues, is extremely high, and Nigeria is currently rated as a “country in low-grade civil war”.
Similarly, Prof Ozekhome is even more forceful in condemning the manner in which Emefiele is being handled by the agents of the federal government. In his popular column in Daily Sun, he says that even in silence, the judiciary remains the shield of all, including the Executive and the Legislature, and as such, the continued detention of Emefiele, and the orders of competent courts to release him on bail, will make him, and Bawa, as “victims of executive lawlessness”. Accordingly to him, mutual respect within the arms of government, should be sacrosanct, and no arm of government should be allowed to “suppress, diminish, intimidate or make nonsense of the other in all ramifications”. This is a sound argument for respect for the rule of law in a democracy.
Recently too, fiery preacher, Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Citadel Global Church, in his state of the Nation’s address, condemned in strong terms, the arbitray detention of Emefiele despite court orders granting him bail. While admitting that the suspended CBN Governor may have stepped on powerful toes, especially with the controversial naira Redesign Policy, due process of the law should take its course. Just last Thursday, following yet another arraignment of Emefiele before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja on a fresh 20-count charge, that has been adjourned to tomorrow, August 23, due to the absence of the second defendant, Mrs Sa’adatu Yaro, who was said to be ‘indisposed’, a group of lawyers under the aegis of ‘Lawyers in Defence of Democracy’, addressed journalists, and lamented the continued detention of Emefiele and others. The group condemned what it called the endless “use of fabricated charges by the DSS to hold Emefiele in illegal detention”. The spokesperson for the group, Ahmed Yusuf, urged President Bola Tinubu to sack the boss of the DSS Yusuf Bichi for allegedly dragging the agency into “a matter outside its jurisdiction and competence to handle”. It’s most unlikely that the President will give a listening ear and heed their call. The lawyers described the fresh charges against Emefiele as “forum shopping and politically motivated, a vendetta”. This is how deep, how complicated the Emefiele case may have become.
There appears to be a clear desperation to nail Emefiele at all cost. If one plot fails, try another. It’s seems to be the script playing out. One of the accusations levelled against Emefiele contained in the fresh 20-count charge, is an alleged N6.9bn contract procurement fraud with the second defendant Mrs Yaro, an employee of the CBN, through a firm known as April 1616 Investment Limited. In the charge, Emefiele is accused of “conferring unlawful advantages on his himself and his associates” through fraudulent vehicle contract. The offence, if proved, attracts at least five years imprisonment. Recall that President Tinubu had, shortly after assumption of office suspended Emefiele on June 10, over alleged infractions and breach of trust.
Since his arrest by the DSS operatives at his Lagos residence, there has been no let up by his trauducers. There have been twists and turns in the matter. First, he was dragged to the Federal High Court, Lagos, presided by Justice Nicholas Oweibo, on a two-count charge of possessing firearms and ammunition. Two weeks ago, Justice Oweibo struck out the charges for lack of “diligent prosecution”. This followed an application by the federal government, represented by the Director of Public Prosecution(DPP), Mohammed Abubakar to withdraw the charges. He claimed that the decision was informed by “emerging facts that needed further investigation”.
Though Emefiele’s counsel, Joseph Dauda(SAN) opposed the application for withdrawal, saying that the federal government had been in flagrant “disobedience of the court’s Order” that granted Emefiele bail in the sum of N20million, on June 25, the judge however granted the federal government’s request. What happened that day has been fittingly described as as one of most horrifying, bizarre, condemnable and despicable spectacles ever witnessed in the present democratic dispensation. On that fateful, blustery afternoon, the operatives of the DSS engaged the officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service ( NCoS) in a disgraceful brawl in the premises of the court. The ruling by Justice Oweibo, that Emefiele be kept at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, pending the fulfillment of his bail conditions was completely flouted by the DSS. The scene of the brawl was surreal to say the least. The ugly fight that looked like a wrestling match in a jungle that made newspaper headlines, resulted in the manhandling of a senior official of the NCoS. His uniform was torn apart. The DSS operatives succeeded in re-arresting Emefiele, and took him away. It was indeed one shame, too many. It remains unclear if the promise by the DSS to investigate the face-off, was ever done. All of this has not helped Nigeria’s national image. Clearly, the DSS has repeatedly shown they are not law-abiding, and have no respect for the judiciary. Spokesman for the agency, Dr Peter Afunanya, in defence of the action of its officials, said that the agency “did not breach any law”. This led to the fresh charges preferred against Emefiele at the FCT High Court Abuja, presided by Justice Hamza Muazu, who had last month ordered the DSS to release Emefiele “within 7 days”. The order was not obeyed, just as that of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court,Justice John Tsoho.
Keeping Emefiele in detention for over two months without diligent prosecution and disobedience to court orders looks pretty much like a witch-hunt. It speaks volumes of why Nigeria continues to be perceived(perhaps rightly so) as a nation not measuring up to democratic best practices. Recently, President Tinubu appointed an investigator, Mr Jim Obazee Osayande to probe the CBN alongside other government entities. Many believe the main target could be Emefiele. Recall that the President had cried out during the electioneering campaign that the Naira Redesign Policy was targeted at him. One is not saying the suspended CBN Governor did not overreach himself as CBN Governor, especially with the naira redesign policy. But, as pastor Bakare noted, he(Emefiele) could not have done what he did without the approval of former President Muhammadu Buhari. And Buhari acknowledged that much in the controversies that trailed the policy and its effects on the economy.
The mistakes that trailed the suspension of Lamido Sanusi as CBN Governor by the then President Goodluck Jonathan, that had tremendous backlash on the economy, should be avoided in the present trial of Emefiele. Nigeria’s economy is already in crisis, bleeding from all corners. It should not be made much worse just because of desperation to disagrace and humiliate one man. The forlorn appearance of Emefiele at the Court last Thursday, was not, in my view, that of a crestfallen man, from hero to zero. It should be seen as a cry for Nigeria and the repeated human rights violations and diregard for the rule of law in our land. Democracy dies in darkness when the rights of citizens are brazenly violated.
