Our reporter/ Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and Nigeria Correctional Centre (NCC) are fighting over the custody of Godwin Emefiele, suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The federal high court in Ikoyi, Lagos, had earlier on Tuesday granted Emefiele N20 million bail and one surety in like sum.
Nicholas Oweibo, the presiding judge, also ruled that the suspended CBN governor should be remanded at the correctional centre pending the fulfilment of his bail conditions.
However, DSS operatives insisted on taking away the suspended CBN governor into their custody but prison officials resisted the move.
The secret police and prison officials clashed over the agency to take custody of the suspended apex bank chief after Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the federal high court in Lagos admitted Emefiele to bail in the sum of the N20m.
Shortly after the ruling, DSS operatives strategically positioned their Hilux Pick Up van used in bringing Emefiele to court, in a manner suggesting that 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 fulfillment of his bail conditions, the secret police challenged them and it led to a fight.
Amid the clash, Emefiele’s lawyers “reluctantly allowed the DSS disobey court order and take custody of their client” to avoid a gun battle.
The prison officials then exited the court in their vehicle and the DSS took charge.
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