A group of human rights lawyers has initiated contempt proceedings against the State Security Service (SSS) Director General, Yusuf Bichi.
They accused him of disobeying multiple court judgments and orders. They made these statements to secure the release of the suspended Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, from SSS custody.
The lawyers filed Form 48, a notification of consequences for disobeying a court order. They also filed Form 49, seeking to commit the alleged contemnor to prison.
They presented the case before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The legal team requested that the court commits the DSS DG to prison until he complies with the court orders. The team is led by Maxwell Opara and Barrister Abdulazeez Tijani.
Their Affidavit
In their affidavit, the lawyers stated that Justice M. A. Hassan had restrained the State Security Service from arresting, detaining, or interrogating Emefiele on terrorism financing, money laundering, round tripping, and other financial crimes of national security significance.
Despite these orders, the State Security Service still arrested and detained Emefiele for over a month while allegedly searching for evidence.
Maxwell Opara emphasized their commitment to pursuing the matter to its conclusion. He added they intended to discourage contempt of court and abuse of power by security agencies and government officials.
He asked, “Is it not clear enough to Nigerians that the SSS is persecuting Emefiele if after holding him for 5 weeks they can only file a ridiculous charge of possessing a pump action gun?”
“If possessing a validly registered pump action gun is a crime deserving perpetual detention, what actions has the SSS taken against the individual threatening Nigerians from a particular section of the country with an assault rifle? The statements suggest that Emefiele’s situation is primarily politically motivated.”
“Despite the absence of valid court orders and the lack of evidence against Emefiele found by the DSS, he should have been released. Now, with three different courts ordering his release, the SSS is still unlawfully detaining him, violating all his rights. That’s why we will ensure Yusuf Magaji Bichi faces imprisonment for these actions.”
The lawyers call for President Tinubu to dismiss DG SSS Bichi.
They accuse him of misleading the President about Emefiele’s alleged crimes and later filing a different charge.