. . . Tasks Government to restore professionalism and discipline

Describing as an unmitigated image disaster for Nigeria, the widely reported fisticuff between hooded operatives of Department of State Services or DSS and the officers of the Lagos correctional Center at a court premises over the custody of the embattled governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Mr. Godwin Emefiele, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu has been tasked to restore professionalism and discipline in the two institutions.

HURIWA noted that the open disrespect of the unambiguous order of the presiding judge that the embattled erstwhile governor of CBN be detained at the Lagos correctional Center pending the fulfillment of his bail conditions, shows that Nigeria is almost going down the drain and if not checked, could snowball into a banana Republic.

“The government must call the DSS particularly to order and there has to be some kind of sanctions administratively for this open show of shame except and unless the entire drama which has muddied the global public relations image of Nigeria was choreographed by the DSS and Prison warders on the express order of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu. Aside the issue of a clear and present danger that the Nigerian government has allowed the institutions of the Federation to be populated by some persons with no regards to public decency, professionalism, discipline and ethics, there is also the threat this event of a very despicable kind has on Nigeria and this will scare away willing foreign direct investors who would now think that Nigeria is in an autopilot position whereby the decisions of the competent courts of law are treated with disdain by a statutory law enforcement body such as the DSS.”

HURIWA recalled that media reports showed that the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), eventually re-arrested suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, after he was granted bail by Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos in the sum of N20m and one surety in like sum.

The DSS officials earlier had a tussle with officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) over the custody of the suspended CBN governor. The judge also ordered that Emefiele be remanded at the correctional center pending the fulfillment of the bail conditions.

However, when the prison officials moved to take Emefiele into custody pending the fulfillment of his bail conditions, the secret police challenged them and it led to a fight.

At exactly 03:03pm, DSS operatives led the suspended CBN governor out of the courtroom into their waiting vehicle.

HURIWA said: “We ask the Federal government to stop allowing security officials paid from taxpayers money to continuously act in ways that depicts the Country as a very lawless contraption. We urge the Federal government to put an end to these cocktails of disgraceful public fights by officers of supposed law enforcement agencies. The other day it was between the DSS and the EFCC just before President Tinubu fied the EFCC’S chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa and the DSS has since detained him for over a month without charge in a competent Judicial forum. Today it is between the DSS and the Prison warders and this scuffle was conducted right before the General public and the story and pictorials from this show of shame must have been globally circulated meaning that Nigeria has suffered international opprobrium and her global standing sullied. President Tinubu must restore professionalism and discipline in all the law enforcement and security institutions in the country.”

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