The Department of State Services (DSS) asked Justice Hamza Muazu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja to issue a 14-day extended detention order for Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank Governor who is currently on leave.
The DSS allegedly found fresh evidence on which to support its application.
The DSS legal team secretly filed the application on Wednesday, and it was presented to the vacation judge today.
Justice Muazu denied the application, stating that it was an abuse of the legal system and that it was without jurisdiction.
Upon questioning by the judge about the court’s jurisdiction, given the exclusive rights of the Magistrate Court to grant detention orders under Sections 293 and 296 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the DSS’s counsel, Mr. Victor Ejelonu, opted to withdraw the matter.
The application came in the wake of Mr. Emefiele’s re-arrest by the DSS from the Federal High Court premises in Lagos, following his remand in a Correctional Centre while awaiting the fulfillment of his bail conditions granted by Justice Nicholas Oweibo.
More to come…
