President Bola Tinubu and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) have been given a seven-day ultimatum to release the embattled former Governor of the Central Bank of Bank (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
The Coalition of Civil Society Organisation (CSO) gave the warning on Tuesday, while speaking on the irrational and excessive display of enthusiasm, saying the Commission should either free him or bring charges against him.
Speaking during the Free Emefiele Rally, which took place in Abuja yesterday, the convener of the Coalition of Civil Society for Defence of Human Rights, Yusuf Maje, said Nigeria is no longer under a military junta where the rights of innocent citizens can be abruptly suspended.
Recall that Emefiele was taken into custody by the EFCC immediately after his release from the Department of State Service (DSS) on October 25.
According to Maje, We submit that his further arrest amounts to double jeopardy. It is overzealousness by EFCC, and a waste of government-scarce resources to subject an innocent citizen to such an ordeal just to teach him a lesson.
Public members are worried that EFCC has allowed itself to be used as an instrument of oppression rather than the anti-corruption agency that it ought to be.
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. We reject this Gestapo way of doing things, because Nigeria is no longer under a military junta where the rights of innocent citizens can be abruptly suspended.
Granted that President Tinubu is doing everything possible to rid the country of corruption and reposition the same on the path of economic growth and sustainable development through his ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’.
“On a final note, we hereby demand that Godwin Emefiele be released from EFCC detention or charged to court within the next seven days from today.
“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, the CSO stated.
