The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has filed his appeal against the ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which compelled him to appear in a $53 million judgment debt suit.
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the FHC had in his ruling last year summoned the CBN governor over his alleged refusal to obey the order of the court for the payment of the judgment debt in favour of a legal practitioner, Joe Agi (SAN).
Although the court had ordered Emefiele to appear before the court on 18 January, 2023, proceedings could not go on as scheduled when the matter was called, prompting the court to subsequently adjourned the case till 20 March due to Emefiele’s failure to return as and when due.
Emefiele returned to the country from the United Kingdom on Monday, after delaying his return for some time following moves by the DSS to arrest and question him over a wide range of alleged criminal activities.
But while he was still away, sources in the DSS told SaharaReporters that they were aware that Emefiele had deliberately decided to delay his return to Nigeria. They, however, noted that the secret Police would arrest the apex bank governor regardless of his antics and the recent court ruling.
The judgment summons, now a subject of the appeal, was in respect of suit NO: FHC/ABJ/CS/1193/2017, between Joe Agi (SAN), against Linas International Ltd, the Minister of Finance and CBN.
However, Emefiele in his notice of appeal predicated on three grounds submitted that Justice Ekwo erred in law and occasioned a miscarriage of justice when he made an order compelling his attendance in court for the $53 million debt.
The CBN governor told the appellate court that the appeals marked CA/A/476/2018 between CBN V Joe Agi (SAN), and two others and CA/A/23/2020 between CBN V Joe Agi (SAN) and two others which were appeals against the judgment sought to be enforced by the judgment summons had been entered before the Court of Appeal.
In the appeal filed on 13 January, 2023, Emefiele through his lawyer, Damien Dodo (SAN), observed that the proceedings to compel his appearance after appeals had been entered, placed the trial court in a position where it is exercising concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of Appeal over the same subject matter.
He also submitted that the trial judge erred in law which occasioned a miscarriage of justice when it compelled and ordered him to personally appear in court without determining one way or the other, his application challenging the jurisdiction of the court.
He, therefore, drew the attention of the appellate court to his application filed on 27 January, 2020, challenging the jurisdiction of the court as well as the service of forms 13 and 15 on him for non-compliance with the mandatory provisions of section 56, part IV, of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act.
Emefiele submitted that on 22 February, 2022, the appellants jointly filed an application seeking a setting aside of the issuance and service of forms 13 and 15 on him, on the basis that the same ought not to have been issued during the pendency of the two mentioned appeals and the pending motions on notice for a stay of execution dated 26 March, 2018, and 11 July, 2019, respectively.
The appellant further contended that the lower court erred in law occasioning a miscarriage of justice when it made an order compelling his appearance in court on 18 January, 2023, when he is not a party to the suit before it.
He, therefore, prayed the appellate court to allow his appeal and set aside the orders made by the Federal High Court.
Meanwhile, controversy had surrounded the presence of a team of policemen at the Federal Capital Territory home of the CBN governor on Tuesday.
The armed police officers, numbering over 10, were seen by Punch correspondent around 8.40pm, Tuesday, at the Maitama, Abuja home of the embattled governor of the apex bank.
The Nigeria Police Force Headquarters and the Federal Capital Territory Police Command denied knowledge of the police presence.
However, police sources said the security team was there to ensure the CBN governor honoured Wednesday’s court appearance.
On Wednesday, it was reported that the DSS has ramped up pressure to ensure the arrest and interrogation of Emefiele.
But amid the moves, there have also been appeals by some Nigerians in high places, including associates of President Muhammadu Buhari on behalf of the Central Bank governor.
The latest of such appeals came from the Chief of Defence Staff, Irabor, who has been begging on behalf of Emefiele, a top government source told SaharaReporters on Wednesday.
“The DSS has ramped up pressure on arresting the CBN governor but the Chief of Defence Staff has begged the DSS DG Bichi to let him finish some projects he’s working on,” the source said.