Amidst allegations and brouhaha surrounding the tenure of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Governor, Godwin Emefiele, Daniel Hannan, the Baron of Kingsclere, United Kingdom, and a member of the Board of Trade and Conservative peer, has stated that the governor should be allowed to perform his functions and not be detained. A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had reportedly stopped the Department of State Services (DSS) from arresting Emefiele over allegations bothering on “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.”
The DSS had reportedly filed a suit on December 7, 2022, seeking to arrest the CBN bossl. Justice J.T Tsoho, gave a ruling declining to grant the application for the governor’s arrest on December 9, 2022.
Reacting to the development, Lord Hannan, speaking at a parliament, said the rule of law, due process and the independence of public officials: these values matter.
According to him, the rule of law bind us together as Commonwealth nations. “I am not Nigerian. It is not for me to say whether it was time for a redesign of naira notes, or whether such a change will make elections cleaner. But I do feel that friends of Nigeria and friends of Nigerian democracy, should defend the rule of law there.
At a time when democracy is in retreat globally, we all have a stake in Nigeria’s success. The country is Africa’s greatest economy, Africa’s greatest population and Africa’s greatest hope.
That is why I have raised the issue of the attempt to detain the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, in Parliament. And that is why I hope that democrats on all sides will join Nigeria in supporting the independence of its institutions in the run-up to the 2023 election – including, of course, the central bank”, he said.