The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Thursday dismissed the case of unlawful possession of firearms brought by the Federal Government against the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.
This decision was reached by Justice Nicholas Oweibo in response to a request from Mohammed Abubakar, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Ministry of Justice, to retract the two-count charge.
Upon permitting the charge to be withdrawn, the judge expressed curiosity about the potential benefits to the defense if the court were to deny the withdrawal.
Justice Oweibo remarked: “The prosecution has shown that they are not law abiding and have no respect for the court. The court cannot force them. What good will it be for the defendant who is in custody? Of what benefit will it be to keep the file in the court’s docket?
“I believe the proper thing is to allow them withdraw the charge. They can simply abandon it and the court will still have to strike it out for lack of diligent prosecution. The application to withdraw is hereby granted.”
During the previous scheduled hearing, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) presented a verbal request to the court seeking the withdrawal of the charges against Emefiele.
He mentioned that the basis for the application stemmed from emerging facts and circumstances that necessitate additional investigations.
He then appealed to the court to approve the application.