In a recent development, the Federal High Court in Lagos has granted the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, the permission to serve the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr. Yusuf Bichi, with the court’s order admitting him to bail and directing his remand in prison custody.
The order was granted by Justice Nicholas Oweibo following an ex-parte application presented by Emefiele’s counsel, Mrs. Ogonnaya Sonuga.
It should be recalled that on July 25, 2023, the court had granted Emefiele bail in the sum of N20 million and ordered his remand in prison custody after his arraignment on charges of illegal possession of firearms.
Emefiele pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him by the DSS.
However, immediately after the court proceedings, he was re-arrested by the DSS, leading to the need for this application to serve the order on Mr. Yusuf Bichi through the DSS.
The ex-parte order requested the court’s permission to serve the complainant (Mr. Yusuf Bichi) with the ruling/order of court, obtained on July 25, 2023, admitting Emefiele to bail and directing his remand in prison custody through substituted means, specifically by publishing the information in the media.
Justice Oweibo granted the orders as requested in the application. The court noted that despite the order granting bail to Emefiele on July 25, 2023, the DSS re-arrested and took him away from the court premises, making it practically impossible to serve the DSS personally.
An affidavit in support of the application stated that it was necessary to bring the order and ruling of the court to the notice and attention of both the complainant (DSS) and the respondent (Emefiele) for prompt action. The deponent expressed the belief that granting the application was in the interest of justice and that the complainant would not be prejudiced by its approval.
