The FCT High Court’s recent ruling in favour of Godwin Emefiele has drawn criticism from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
On Monday, the court awarded N100 million in damages to Godwin Emefiele, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, in a case against the EFCC.
Justice O. A. Adeniyi said in his ruling that the commission’s detention of Emefiele during its investigation constituted an infringement of his right.
In response to the ruling, the EFCC released a statement on Monday expressing its intention to appeal the judgment.
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The commission believes that the judge failed to acknowledge that Emefiele was detained under a valid court order.
“The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has expressed dissatisfaction with a judgement of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court awarding N100 million damages against it in favour of a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefielte,” the statement read in part.
The EFCC further said, “The decision failed to take cognizance of the fact that the former CBN boss was held with a valid order of court.”
Emefiele had been implicated in an ongoing investigation into alleged fraudulent foreign exchange allocations, most recently to Dangote Group. As part of this investigation, the EFCC has contacted more than 85 corporations and individuals.
