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It’s too risky to free Emefiele – DSS *Debunks terrorism, currency swap charges
“Any attempt to grant the applicant bail at this stage of the investigation may interfere with other exhibits yet to be collected and jeopardise ongoing investigation in the matter, the Federal Government, told Justice Hamza Muazu, of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, currently hearing the fundamental rights application filed by embattled Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
It was the outcome of a stiff legal battle between the lawyers of the FG, including the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Department of State Services (DSS), the defendants against those of the Emefiele, suspended on June 7, by President Bola Tinubu, before the judge adjourned till July 13 for a ruling.
It was on a day the DSS, told the court that the CBN boss would flee the country if granted bail, adding that he had enormous resources to interfere with their investigations, the same argument, maintained by the OAGF, which defended his continued detention, describing him as a “flight risk.”
In separate counter-affidavits they filed in a fundamental rights enforcement suit by the suspended CBN chief, the OAGF argued that Emefiele’s life was not in danger to warrant him being granted bail, while the DSS warned that he could interfere with its investigations if released.
With both, respondents in the suit, maintaining that justice would not be served if he was allowed to walk free, the DSS particularly denied that Ememfiele was in danger, countering the the allegation that he was not allowing his family members and lawyers to visit him.
In its own affidavit, the OAGF dismissed the speculation that Emefiele was being held for terrorist-related crimes. It also said he was not being victimized for his involvement in politics and the botched naira redesign policy.
The OAGF said: “Issues of terrorism financing and fraudulent activities are not part of the grounds for the arrest and detention of the applicant. The respondents have not violated the applicant’s right to live in any way, his life is not in danger. The respondents did not subject the applicant to any judicial adjudication to warrant the allegation of denial of a fair hearing.
“With the remand order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction, the said violation of the applicant’s right to freedom of movement does not arise. The respondents did not subject the applicant to any torture, the details of which have not been provided.”
The DSS, which maintained that Emefiele was being held pursuant to an order of a competent court, added that the suspended CBN boss was arrested “upon reasonable suspicion of committing acts which constitute a criminal breach of trust, incitement to violence, criminal misappropriation of public fund, economic sabotage, economic crimes of national security dimension and undermining the security of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
It added: “Upon the arrest of the applicant, a detention order was duly and promptly procured from a court of competent jurisdiction to enable the 2nd and 3rd respondents to keep the applicant in lawful custody for a period of 14 days when it became apparent that investigation into the allegations levelled against him would take a little while to conclude.
“Also, the arrest of the applicant is not in connection with his financial or monetary policies, including the recent re-design of the naira which was approved by His Excellency, the former president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The applicant is still being investigated and as soon as the investigation is completed, the applicant will be immediately charged to court where necessary. The applicant has enormous resources at his disposal and can easily interfere with an ongoing investigation and even evade subsequent arrest if released on bail.
“The applicant is a flight risk and there is credible intelligence that he making a frantic effort to flee the country if released prematurely on bail. The investigation has assumed a wider dimension and other collaborators fingered in the course of the investigation are at large and ought to be traced and arrested to enable a successful prosecution.
“Any attempt to grant the applicant bail at this stage of the investigation may interfere with other exhibits yet to be collected and jeopardize ongoing investigation in the matter. The activities of the applicant constitute a potent threat to national security and cohesion of the Nigeria state.
“The applicant instituted this suit with the sole aim of preventing the 2nd and 3rd respondents from discharging their statutory mandate by seeking to use this court to fetter the hands of the 2nd and 3rd respondents in the ongoing security investigation.”
Tijani Gazal, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who represented the OAGF, while urging the court to dismiss the suit, on the ground that Emefiele’s allegation of unlawful detention was unfounded, said as the suspended CBN governor was being detained on the order of an FCT Chief Magistrates Court, adding that Emefiele’s arrest and detention was an administrative decision of an arm of the Executive arm of government.
Lawyer to the DSS I. Awo, who also said there was a subsisting order to detain Emefiele, urged the court to dismiss the suit with cost.
But Emefiele’s Lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), who argued that the court has the jurisdiction to hear and determine the suit, pointed out that the alleged offences listed against his client were state offences that could be tried by the High Court of the FCT.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
Slavery is a wound on the memory of the Universal Church, Pope Leo XIV, said on Monday, as he issued a fresh apology over the participation of the the Catholic Church in the centuries-long delay in condemning slavery.
The pontiff stressed the position of the church after his predecessors had offered similar apologies, said: “For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
Writing in a major text that warned about “new forms of slavery” behind the digital economy, the joined John Paul II, who denounced slave trade in 1992 before issuing a sweeping request for forgiveness for historical injustices in 2000 and Pope Francis who also repeatedly denounced contemporary forms of slavery.
In his own vein, Pope Leo, pointed out that the Church owned slaves until the Middle Ages and it also advised European sovereigns on how to justify the enslavement of “infidels.”
He stressed in “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), a document focused primarily on the rise of artificial intelligence, that it was only in the 19th century that “a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated.”
Hear him: “It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached.”
Qowiy Oloyede, a resident of Oriya Sokoto road, Atan Ota, is currently telling operatives of the Ogun State Colice command, the reasons that pushed him into making a video suggesting that a part of the state was under attack of terrorists, knowing same to be fake.
Oloyede, reports say, dragged to the police on May 23 by one Ayinla Sodiq, who accused him of creating and sharing a misleading TikTok video falsely claiming that bandits had invaded the Atan Ota community..
Zagazola Makama, a counterinsurgency publication, which broke the news, said on immediately being questioning by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Oloyed, allegedly confessed to fabricating the video to gain followers on social media.
Apart from admitting that that he created the fake bandit attack content to gain followers and trend online, said in a video currently on social media the herder featured in the clip was a cattle rearer who usually grazed cows behind his shop and had initially refused to participate before eventually agreeing.
Oloyede, who also claimed he could neither read nor write, adding that his apprentice wrote the caption accompanying the video posted online, maintained that he had only produced and posted two similar videos, one on Monday and another on Wednesday.
The command, said to have recovered photographs and video evidence linked to the fake publication during preliminary investigation, added that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Abeokuta, for further investigation, warning residents against spreading false information capable of causing panic and public disorder, and for the public to verify information before sharing content on social media.
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