Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), on Tuesday, July 25, re-arrested suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, after a tussle with officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS).
Emefiele’s re-arrest occurred after Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos admitted the embattled and suspended apex bank chief to bail in the sum of the N20m.
The judge also ordered that Emefiele be remanded at the correctional centre pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions.
Shortly after the ruling, DSS operatives strategically positioned their Hilux Pick Up van used to bring Emefiele to court, suggesting they wanted to take him back to their detention centre.
This prompted Emefiele’s lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), and other lawyers to raise an alarm about their client’s planned re-arrest by the secret police.
After the court ruling, the suspended CBN governor holed up inside the courtroom with his lawyers.
However, when the prison officials moved to take Emefiele into custody pending the fulfilment of his bail conditions, the secret police challenged them, leading to a fight.
At the closure of the arraignment, an altercation ensued between operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) and a top official of the Ikoyi correctional service.
Reports have that the Ikoyi prison officer was manhandled and arrested by the DSS when the matter became physical.
Amid the clash, Emefiele’s lawyers “reluctantly allowed the DSS to disobey a court order and take custody of their client” to avoid a gun battle.
As reported by Channels TV online, the prison officials exited the court in their vehicle, and the DSS took charge.
At exactly 03:03 pm, DSS operatives led the suspended CBN governor out of the courtroom into their waiting vehicle.
President Bola Tinubu suspended Emefiele as the apex bank chief on June 9, 2023.
A day after, the secret police confirmed that the embattled and suspended CBN chief was in its custody.