Fakoyejo OlalekanThe suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been arraigned by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Emefiele was presented to the federal high court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, to face an allegation of possession of firearms.
Recall that the court had ordered the DSS to either file a case against Emefiele or release him after keeping the former CBN chief in detention since June 9.
DSS alleged that a 44 calibre shotgun that uses a magnum cartridge was discovered in Emefiele’s house. Also, 123 ammunitions were also found.
This is the first time Emefiele was seen in public since his arrest, which has affected the other lawsuits he’s involved in, such as the Paris Club refund.
Prime Business Africa had reported that Emefiele risks another arrest over his failure to appear in the Paris Club refund judgement debt of $53 million.
Joe Agi, a legal consultant, had filed a lawsuit against CBN, Emefiele, Linas International Ltd and the Minister of Finance, requesting the balance of his fee for consulting in the Paris Club fund.
He told the court that he has only been paid $17 million out of the $70 million judgement debt. This led Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, to demand Emefiele’s presence.
However, he hasn’t been able to appear in court, forcing the court to shift his appearance five times between October 2022 to October 2023.
His counsel in the Paris Club refund case, Audu Anuga, SAN, appealed to the court, stating that: “We made an effort to see how we can communicate with the 4th respondent (Emefiele) but the 3rd respondent (CBN) was unable to communicate with the 4th respondent.
“We rely only on public communication that the 4th respondent is incarcerated and have been unable to communicate with him.”
“But there is an intervening event, as we have not had the privilege to see him,” Anuga said, adding: “The last opportunity my lord gave to the 4th respondent has not been communicated to him,” and “I feel opportunity should be given so that this can be communicated.”
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