A group of human rights lawyers have begun contempt proceedings against the Director General of the State Security Service, Yusuf Bichi, over alleged disobedience to multiple court judgments and orders directing the release of the suspended Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, from custody of the agency.
The lawyers are seeking to commit the DSS chief to prison in accordance with provisions of the law on violation of lawful order of a competent court.
They have file Form 48, which is the notification of consequences of disobedience to a court order, and Form 49, which seeks to commit an alleged contemnor to prison, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja on Monday.
The lawyers led by Maxwell Opara and Barrister Abdulazeez Tijani, are asking the court to commit DSS DG to prison until he purges himself of the contempt.
They deposed Justice M. A. Hassan restrained the respondents in that suit, particularly, the State Security Service from arresting, detaining, or interrogating Emefiele for offences connected to Terrorism financing, money laundering, round tripping, financial crimes of national security dimension among others.
According to the lawyers, despite the clear and positive orders of Justice Hassan, the State Security Service still arrested and detained Emefiele ‘for well over a month while shopping for evidence.”
Opara said he and his colleagues will pursue the matter to its logical conclusion to serve as a deterrent to other heads of security agencies and top government officials that contempt of court and gross abuse of offices for personal vendetta will no longer be tolerated
