DSS and Prison Officials duel over Emefiele’s custody

Mr. Godwin Emefiele, suspended Central Bank Governor, was prosecuted for illegal possession of firearms and granted bail by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos yesterday, 46 days after he was arrested by the Department of State Services, DSS, and two weeks after a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered his release or arraignment for any offense he might have allegedly committed.

However, Emefiele’s arraignment was marred by a skirmish between DSS agents and officials from the Nigerian Prisons Service over which agency should take custody of Emefiele after he was granted bail in the sum of N20 million by Justice Nicholas Oweibo.

The clash between the two agencies subsequently devolved into a free-for-all when the NPS Armed Squad Commander, Williams Udom, who had gone to provide tactical assistance to prison authorities on the court grounds, was manhandled and his service uniform destroyed.

To defuse the tension, a senior female DSS officer arrived at the location hours after the standoff and had a brief conversation with NCoS officials and her operatives. This allowed the DSS to re-arrest Emefiele shortly after he exited the courthouse.

The Federal Government stated in a two-count complaint filed before the court that Mr. Emefiele was caught in possession of a single-barrel shotgun (Jojeff Magnum 8371) without a license on June 15, 2023, at No.3b Ibru Close, Ikoyi, Lagos.

In the second count, the suspended CBN governor was accused of carrying 123 rounds of live ammunition (cartridges) in his possession without a license, which is a violation of Section 8 of the Firearms Act 2004 and a criminal offense under Section 27 (1)(b)(il) of the same Act.

The government contended that the offense violated Section 4 of the Firearms Act of 2004 and that it was punished under Section 27 (1b). After the allegations were read to him, Emefiele maintained his innocence and pled not guilty.

Following the arraignment, Emefiele’s counsel, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Chief Joseph Daudu, SAN, drew the court’s attention to his earlier filed application for bail and urged the court to grant his client bail on self-recognition or on any other reasonable terms.