Human rights lawyer Femi Falana urged the Department of State Services to expedite the investigation into the charges involving Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Emefiele was detained on June 10 by DSS officials on suspicion of terrorism financing, while Bawa was arrested on suspicion of abuse of office.
Falana made the announcement while appearing on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Friday night.
He said, “Under the administration of Criminal Justice Act if you’re going to detain a Nigerian beyond 24 hours in places where there are no courts within a radius of 40km{like Lagos and Abuja), you’re required to approach a Magistrate court to ask for a remand order to allow for investigation.”
Falana said that even if the DSS has obtained a court order to detain Emefiele and Bawa, the order cannot last for long.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria urged the Nigerian government to handle the cases in line with the provisions of the law to avoid a situation whereby loopholes are exploited.
“As far as I’m concerned, investigations should be speedily conducted, more so where allegations are made. I do not expect any delay in the investigation of the very serious allegation that has been made,” he mentioned.
“In the case of Emefiele, the State Security Services last year alleged his involvement in terrorism financing. Please, quickly do something about that. With respect to money laundering and other offences, take them to the appropriate agencies of the government.
“In the case of Mr Bawa, we haven’t been told the offences he committed. I cannot speak very confidently with respect to the gentleman except to ask the government or the agencies involved to speed up an investigation and have them arraigned if they are indicted.”
The SAN stressed that if the appropriate legal procedures aren’t met to keep them in detention, the duo should be granted bail.