In a surprising turn of events, the Federal Government has submitted an application to withdraw the case of “illegal possession of firearms” that it had filed against the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
This application was presented at the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mohammed Bakodo Abubakar, informed Justice Nicholas Oweibo during the hearing that the decision to withdraw the case came after further investigations were conducted.
Abubakar made the application verbally, but it was met with opposition from Emefiele’s defense counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN).
Daudu contended that since the government had not adhered to the court’s order regarding Emefiele’s bail, their application to withdraw the case could not be entertained.
Justice Oweibo had previously granted Emefiele bail on July 25, setting it at N20 million for two counts of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
The judge directed that Emefiele be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre until he fulfills the conditions of his bail.
However, the Department of State Services (DSS) re-arrested Emefiele, engaging in a confrontation with officials of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) within the court premises.
It has come to light that the government has filed fresh charges against Emefiele in Abuja. The new charges, consisting of 20 counts, have been filed at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.
Among these charges, one of them accuses Emefiele of “conferring unlawful advantages.”
