Human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has congratulated the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele for his temporary victory over the Department of State Services.
Falana while speaking on Channels Television Politics on Tuesday explained that it was surprising for the court not to order his arrest, when it had approved such applications many times for security agents.
Falana noted the CBN governor is enjoying temporary victory over a court ruling that refused an exparte application by the secret police seeking his arrest.
“I want to congratulate Mr Godwin Emefiele for his temporary victory whereby the court refused to grant the application of the state security service to arrest and detain him.
“I say that he’s being lucky in the sense that on a daily basis, several exparte orders are made by our court, authorizing the detention of people of the society,” he said.
Falana further urged the court to review its policy on fundamental rights in the sense that none should be arrested by way of exparte application, but that the accused should be put on notice as in the case of Emefiele.
“But in his(Emefiele) own case, because of his social status, the court refused to grant the application.
“I therefore call on our judges , number 1, to entertain and assign all fundamental rights applications with dispatch because there is equality before the law; 2) On no ground should our court order the arrest of any citizen on the basis of an exparte application.
“So I want to believe that our court will now adopt the policy of saying , go and put the person you want me to detain on notice so that he can be giving the opportunity to challenge the exparte applications,” he said.
In suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/2255/2022, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Justice John Tsoho, in a ruling around December 12, reportedly refused a DSS’s exparte application calling for Emefiele’ arrest and interrogation on the ground that the secret police did not disclose evidence to back up its “grave allegations.”
