•Fight over custody of ex-CBN governor
By Emma Njoku and Lukman Olabiyi
It was a show of shame yesterday at the premises of the Federal High Court in Lagos, as operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and prison officials, yesterday, engaged in a free-for-all, over who should take custody of suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Emefiele, who is facing trial over alleged illegal possession of firearms, was granted bail by the court, which, also, ordered that he be remanded in a correctional centre, pending the perfection of the bail conditions.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo had granted the suspended CBN governor bail in the sum of N20 million with one surety in like sum, after he pleaded not guilty to two-count charge of illegal possession of firearms. However, there was pandemonium at the court premises, yesterday, when the DSS operatives attempted to rearrest the embattled CBN governor, who was already in the custody of officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS).
The court had adjourned the case until November 14 for trial, and had ordered Emefiele’s remand in the correctional service, pending the perfection of his bail. But several hours after the case was adjourned, Emefiele remained in the courtroom, apparently for fear of being rearrested by the DSS, whose armed operatives were waiting at the entrance of the courtroom. When he eventually stepped out of the courtroom and a top official of the Nigerian correctional centre attempted to take him into custody of the service as ordered by the court, operatives of the DSS resisted the move, which led to a vicious scuffle between officials of the two government establishments.
Journalists were ordered to move out of the court vicinity by DSS officials as they brandished their guns while other visitors to the court fled to different directions for safety.