Court dismisses FG’s objection to Emefiele’s bail application

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Tuesday, dismissed the objection of the Federal Government to the bail application of the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, who is being prosecuted on charges of possession of firearms and ammunition.

The presiding Judge, Justice Nicholas Oweibo, repudiated the argument of the federal government that it had not received a copy of the bail application of the former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

At the proceeding on Tuesday, the lead counsel to Emefiele, Joseph Dauda (SAN), who led the legal team to file the bail application for their client, had notified the court that the former CBN Governor has fulfilled all the conditions necessary for hearing of the bail application, urging the court to hear the bail application on self recognizance.

Dauda, former President of the Nigeria bar Association (NBA), also notified the court that the proof of service endorsed by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) is in the court’s file. He, therefore, declared that “There should be an end to oppression.”

Counsel to the federal government, Deputy Director of Prosecution, Nkiru Jones-Nebo, opposed the argument for hearing of the bail application, saying that she was yet to see the application, noting that there is no Attorney General of the Federation in the country since the end of the Buhari administration.

Nkiru Jones-Nebo had declared before the court, “We have scrutinised even through the agency the defendant is been detained but we could not find any.

“I have not set my eye on this application. I am yet to receive and after we receive it, we would want to respond to it.
“With due respect to the court we are seeking for a date to enable us respond both to the issues of law and the facts contained in the application which I am just seeing this morning.”

The Presiding judge, Justice Nicholas Oweibo, in a brief judgement, ruled that there was evidence that the government was served the bail application by the defendant. The Judge, therefore, held that hearing of the bail application should hold.