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Emefiele Requests a Stay of Prosecution by the FG and Discharge Over Alleged Gun Possession.
Emefiele Requests a Stay of Prosecution by the FG and Discharge Over Alleged Gun Possession.
Suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele has filed a lawsuit asking a federal high court in Lagos to stop the federal government from further prosecuting him on charges of illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition.
NewsReport Nigeria reports that Emefiele is also seeking an order from the court discharging him of all charges, arguing that the government has been in “brazen disobedience” of the court’s order granting him bail on July 25, 2023.
In his lawsuit, Emefiele said that the government has refused to release him from detention, even though he has met all the bail conditions set by the court. He also accused the government of trying to “frustrate” him by applying for leave to appeal the bail order.
Emefiele applied to his lawyers, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joseph Daudu, before Vacation Judge Justice Nicholas Oweibo, who had admitted him to bail after his arraignment.
Emefiele Requests a Stay of Prosecution by the FG and Discharge Over Alleged Gun Possession.
This was disclosed by a member of the defense team, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Victor Opara. According to Opara, the application was filed yesterday, August 8th, and has been served on the FG today.
The court has scheduled a hearing on Emefiele’s lawsuit for Thursday, August 10.
In a separate development, the federal government has also filed an application before the court seeking to stay the execution of the order remanding Emefiele in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Services.
In the application filed on Aug. 3 by a deputy director of public prosecutions of the Federation, Nkiru Jones-Nebo, the government is asking the court to instead remand Emefiele in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).
