A group of Nigerian civil society organisations has demanded the release of the embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Coalition of Civil Society for Defence of Human Rights, led by Yusuf Maje, held a rally in Abuja on Thursday to call for Emefiele’s release.
Maje described Emefiele’s detention as a “witch hunt” by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He said Emefiele should be released or charged to court within seven days.
“We submit that his further arrest amounts to double jeopardy,” Maje said. “It is overzealousness by EFCC and a waste of government-scarce resources to subject an innocent citizen to such ordeal just to ‘teach him a lesson.'”
Maje also rejected the “Gestapo way” of handling Emefiele’s case.
“We state authoritatively that the tossing of Godwin Emefiele like a football in the field from one government agency to another in the name of investigation is unacceptable and will be frontally resisted,” he said.
Maje urged the Federal Government to release Emefiele within seven days or face the wrath of the coalition.
“In the unlikely event that this demand is not met, then the Federal Government will have the overwhelming population of our Coalition to contend with across the country,” he said.
Emefiele was arrested on June 9, 2023, by the Department of State Services (DSS). He was released on October 25 but was immediately detained by the EFCC.
The EFCC is investigating Emefiele for alleged corruption, among other allegations.
