BREAKING: Emefiele siblings lose case in court against FG

A Federal High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has dismissed two fundamental rights enforcement suits filed against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Department of State Services (DSS) by George Emefiele and Okanta Emefiele, siblings of the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

The Emefiele brothers had initiated legal action seeking the court’s intervention to uphold their fundamental rights, including freedom of movement. In their separate cases, they requested a perpetual injunction against the DSS, preventing them from inviting, intimidating, harassing, arresting, or detaining them in connection with matters pertaining to the ongoing investigation of Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

They contended that such actions were beyond the scope of the DSS’s constitutional and statutory authority.

During the proceedings, Grace Ehusani, the counsel representing the applicants, informed the court that her clients had each filed a notice of discontinuance of the cases. While no specific reasons were provided for this action, the DSS’s legal representative, Ibrahim Awo, did not oppose the application for discontinuation but advocated for the cases to be dismissed rather than merely struck out, as requested by the applicants’ counsel.

Awo urged the court to impose a substantial cost of N2 million against the applicants in favor of the respondents.

Maimuma Lami-Sheru, counsel for the AGF, aligned herself with the DSS’s counsel’s stance and also requested a N2 million cost.

Justice Emmanuel Okpe, serving as the vacation judge, subsequently issued his bench ruling. He decided to strike out the cases, ordering that no costs should be borne by the applicants.