Court Orders Immediate Release of Godwin Emefiele from EFCC Custody
Justice O. Adeniji of the High Court in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, issued an order on Thursday for the immediate and unconditional release of Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
This court order was a response to a motion ex parte presented by Emefiele’s legal team.
The lawsuit, identified as FCT/HC/CV/040/2023/M/122/2023, names various notable figures as defendants, including the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Attorney General of the Federation, the EFCC, and its chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
In his ruling, Justice Adeniji stipulated, “The third and fourth respondents are hereby ordered to unconditionally release the applicant from detention forthwith or, in the alternative, produce him in court on the date fixed for the hearing of the substantive motion on notice for the purpose of being admitted to bail by the court.” The court scheduled the hearing of the motion on notice for November 11, 2023. The court mandated the delivery of the order, along with the motion on notice, to the respondents on Thursday, November 2, 2023.
Emefiele had been detained by the EFCC subsequent to his release from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), where he had been held since June 10. His ordeal began with a suspension by President Bola Tinubu, after which he was apprehended by the DSS in June.