Human Rights Lawyers belonging to the Lawyers in Defence of Democracy (LIDD) have expressed strong disapproval of the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi, for the alleged assault on judiciary, lawyers, prison officials, and media during the arrest of the suspended CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele. The incident took place at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday.

The lawyers also criticized the subsequent rearrest of Emefiele by DSS operatives after engaging in a physical altercation with officials from the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS). The clash occurred as the prison officials attempted to take custody of Emefiele, who had been granted bail by Justice Nicholas Oweibo.

Following the ruling, DSS operatives, positioned their Hilux Pick-up van in a manner that suggested they intended to take Emefiele to their detention center. This led to a confrontation with the prison officials, resulting in a free-for-all fight. Eventually, the DSS operatives took custody of Emefiele.

In response to the incident, the lawyers, led by Barr. Okere Kingdom, issued a statement calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to demonstrate respect for the rule of law by suspending and ordering the arrest of DSS Director General, Yusuf Bichi. The lawyers argued that the DSS lacked the constitutional authority to rearrest Emefiele until he had fulfilled his bail conditions.

The statement emphasized, “This constant assault on the judiciary by the DSS is totally unacceptable. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should save democracy and the image of the judiciary by immediately ordering the arrest of DSS DG, Bichi, for violation of multiple judgments and court orders on the release of the suspended chairman of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele.”

Source: Vanguard