The Federal High Court in Lagos has taken a significant step by dismissing the firearms possession charges that were brought against the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, by the Federal Government. This decision was reached on Thursday by Justice Nicholas Oweibo, who acted upon a request made by Mohammed Abubakar, the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Ministry of Justice, to withdraw the two charges against Emefiele based on Section 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
Emefiele's defense, led by Mr. J.B. Daodu, contended that the charges could not be withdrawn until the government addressed its non-compliance with the court's July 25 order that granted Emefiele bail of N20 million. Although Justice Oweibo criticized the government's behavior, he ultimately approved the application for withdrawal of the charges, stating, "Accordingly, this charge is hereby struck out for lack of diligent prosecution."
Earlier this week, the government put forth an application to drop the charges, revealing that a separate 20-count charge had been filed against Emefiele in Abuja. The former CBN Governor has been held in the custody of the State Security Services (SSS), also known as the Department of State Security, since June 10, following his suspension by President Bola Tinubu on June 9.
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