In a significant defeat for Nigeria’s imperial oppressors, and a small but significant stand for national independence, the High Court for the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja has finally granted bail to former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele—this, after his spending the last 151 days in jail awaiting trial. The judge in the case, Olukayode Adegbola, reportedly further offered a rare rebuke to the Federal Government for these (often used) indefinite detentions, adding that this was a factor in his decision.
Emefeile’s travails began when the national stormtroopers, the Department of Security Services (DSS), surrounded the Central Bank in January, forcing him to “shelter in place.” He was suspended as CBN chair by new President Bola Tinubu on June 9, a mere two weeks after his May 29 inauguration. After this, Emfiele was immediately “taken into custody” by the DSS, with no charges provided. He then sat in jail for six weeks before being arraigned with the ridiculous charges of possession of “a single-barrel gun and 123 rounds of cartridges,” according to the very precise description by the BBC. Still, the judge considered this “armed revolutionary” too big a threat to walk the streets, and refused his bail request. (The DSS had earlier leaked “hints” of Emefiele’s financing of terror already in 2022, and tried to get him arrested in January 2023, a move which was then denied by the court.)
A week after charges were brought, and even though the judge had thrown out the ridiculous “unregistered firearms” charges, the DSS on July 25 refused to allow Emefiele’s release, physically ripping him from the arms of court officials, while surrounding the entire courthouse on the outside.