Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), yesterday, condemned what it called disrespect for judicial process and sanctity of court premises by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had been granted N20 million bail by the Federal High Court in Lagos, on Tuesday, following his arraignment and “not guilty” plea to a two-count charge on alleged possession of a shotgun without a licence.
The court had ordered that Emefiele be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) facility in Ikoyi. DSS personnel, however, had fought off the NCoS operatives at the court premises, assaulted one of their commanders, before seizing and whisking Emefiele away.
NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau, said the association particularly denounced DSS for its disgraceful and unlawful conduct, considering the fact that the court had earlier ordered that suspended CBN Governor be kept in a correctional centre, pending perfection of his bail conditions.
He added: “A situation where officers of Federal Government agencies engage in a fight as witnessed by the public, for whatever reason, is antithetical to our security as a nation and creates a recipe for anarchy and chaos. Both the DSS and the NCoS are important institutions dealing with national security and administration of justice, respectively, and the need for them to work in concert towards attaining justice in a secured Nigeria cannot be overemphasised. It is difficult not to hold the leadership of the two agencies directly responsible for the shameful and disgraceful conduct of the personnel.”
He called on the two agencies to take immediate disciplinary measures against the officers involved in the disgraceful conduct.
This was as DSS said it had commenced investigations into the inter-agency clash which took place at the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Tuesday.
It noted: “For emphasis, the DSS has not broken any laws in handling the Emefiele case, despite efforts by some elements to skew narratives to the contrary.”
Spokesman of the secret police, Peter Afunanya, who made the disclosure, said his organisation has a robust working relationship with sister agencies.
He said: “The incident was unfortunate and does not in any way reflect the professional disposition of the DSS. The service did not and would never encourage the incident under reference.
“While noting that personnel from both agencies exhibited undue overzealousness, the service has further initiated detailed investigations into the matter.”
This is with a view to identifying the role played by specific persons as well as undertaking disciplinary actions if necessary and drawing some lessons going forward.”
Meanwhile, criticisms have continued to trail the incident.
Former chairman of Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), Monday Ubani, said: “The truth is that the order of the court was explicit on who should take custody of the defendant, in this case Mr. Emefiele, former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria. It is appalling that DSS that had him for over a month was eager to take him back into custody, despite the express order of the court.
“What offence(s) are they desiring to investigate which they did not complete for over one month when they had him in their custody? Were they not the ones that came up with the miserable charge of illegal possession of firearms after his long detention? It is now they want to investigate the alleged funding of terrorism? We joke too much in this country!”
“Their penchant and impunity in disobeying court orders needs the bold condemnation of the NBA to nip their contempt for rule of law in the bud. We do not need to patronise them at all as they are hell bent in destroying the rule of law and, by extension, our hard won democracy.”
Human rights crusader and senior legal practitioner, Femi Falana, said: “The Federal Government should ensure that the orders of the Federal High Court are obeyed forthwith, notwithstanding the avowed commitment of the Bola Tinubu administration to operate under the rule of law.”
A former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, urged Tinubu to sanction the DSS operatives involved in the skirmish, saying the action has adversely affected the image of the Tinubu administration.
On his Twitter handle, Fayose wrote: “The DSS’ act of lawlessness at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, should be condemned by all lovers of democracy and rule of law in the country.
“It is painful that the DSS is yet to come to terms with the fact that the President of Nigeria, today, is a product of struggle for democracy and won’t superintend any act of lawlessness. I’m sure that President Tinubu will act swiftly to curb their excesses, so that they don’t give his government a bad name, just as they did to the immediate past government. This is a function of failed or power drunk leadership in the DSS. It’s time for the President to act.”
Also, George Emefiele, a brother to the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, described Tuesday’s face-off between officers of the DSS and Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) as disgraceful.
He said the DSS didn’t need to engage in a public fight with NCoS officials legally entrusted with custody of his brother by the court.
He said: “It is unfortunate that this is happening in Nigeria, a democratic nation that is blessed with people of integrity. I remember how the current president fought the military tooth and nail during the NADECO period.
“Three courts have said release him on bail; he is not running away. He served this nation for nine years. All his life has been in Nigeria, here. You can imagine where two Federal Government apparatuses are fighting one another. This is a disgrace to this nation.”
Credit: The Guardian