The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned a scuffle between operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) over the custody of suspended CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the altercation took place on Tuesday after Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos admitted Emefiele to bail in the sum of N20 million.
The judge also ordered that Emefiele be remanded at the correctional centre pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions.
However, after the court ruling, the DSS operatives positioned their vehicle in a manner suggesting that they wanted to take Emefiele back to their detention centre.
When the prison officials moved to take Emefiele into custody, the DSS challenged them, and a fight ensued.
Emefiele’s lawyers eventually allowed the DSS to take custody of their client.
The NBA, in a statement, condemned the scuffle and called on the two agencies to take immediate disciplinary measures against the officers involved.
The association said the altercation was a “brazen disrespect for the sanctity of the court premises” and “a recipe for anarchy and chaos.”
The NBA also called for a complete overhaul of the two institutions and a total reorientation of their personnel to achieve professionalism and ensure synergy in the discharge of their respective constitutional responsibilities.
“This incident regrettably is further evidence of the lack of discipline and absence of professionalism that continues to plague key security institutions in Nigeria, which, without doubt, is largely responsible for the limited progress in achieving a coordinated response to security concerns across the country,” the statement partly read.
“The NBA further condemns the brazen disrespect for the sanctity of the court premises. The courts and judicial processes remain the barometer by which the conduct of persons or agencies of government are gauged in assessing the rule of law.
“The NBA calls on the two agencies to take immediate disciplinary measures against the officers involved in this disgraceful conduct. In addition, there is an urgent need for a complete overhaul of the institutions and a total reorientation of the personnel, to achieve professionalism and ensure synergy in the discharge of their respective constitutional responsibilities.”
