The embattled Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja on Thursday.
It was Emefiele’s first meeting with the president since he sneaked into the country on January 12, 2022 after a month-long absence amidst speculations that the DSS was out to arrest him for alleged financial terrorism.
He was sighted alongside the delegation led by the director general of Arab Bank for Economic Development, Dr Sidi Ould Tah.
“You are welcome back. I am grateful that you are well received,” Buhari told Emefiele.
Recall that Emefiele had left the country following the investigation of several allegations against him, including corruption and terrorism financing.
The DSS asked the court to order the arrest of the CBN governor over alleged “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.”
Meanwhile, Emefiele has appealed the ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which compelled him to appear in a $53 million judgment debt suit.
Recall that Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court had in his ruling on October 20, 2022 summoned the CBN governor for his alleged refusal to obey the order of the court in respect of the payment of the judgment debt in favour of a senior legal practitioner, Mr. Joe Agi.
The court ordered him to appear on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, as the hearing date.
However, proceedings could not go on as scheduled when the matter was called thus prompting the court to subsequently adjourn the case till March 20.
The judgment summons, now a subject of the appeal, was in respect of suit NO: FHC/ABJ/CS/1193/2017, between Joe Agi, against Linas International Ltd, the Minister of Finance and CBN.
However, Emefiele in his notice of appeal predicated on three grounds submitted that Justice Ekwo erred in law and occasioned a miscarriage of justice when he made an order compelling his attendance in court for the $53 million judgement debt.
He told the court that the appeals marked CA/A/476/2018 between CBN V Joe Agi and two others and CA/A/23/2020 between CBN V Joe Agi (SAN) and two others which were appeals against the judgment sought to be enforced by the judgment summons had been entered before the Court of Appeal.
In the appeal filed on January 13, 2023, Emefiele through his lawyer, Mr. Damien Dodo, observed that the proceedings to compel his appearance after appeals had been entered, placed the trial court in a position where it is exercising concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of Appeal over the same subject matter.
He drew the attention of the court to his application filed on January 27, 2020, challenging the jurisdiction of the court as well as the service of forms 13 and 15 on him for non-compliance with the mandatory provisions of section 56, part IV, of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act.
Emefiele submitted that on February 22, 2022, the appellants jointly filed an application seeking a setting aside of the issuance and service of forms 13 and 15 on him, on the basis that the same ought not to have been issued during the pendency of the two mentioned appeals and the pending motions on notice for a stay of execution dated March 26, 2018, and July 11, 2019, respectively.
The appellant further contended that the lower court erred in law occasioning a miscarriage of justice when it made an order compelling his appearance in court on January 18, 2023, when he is not a party to the suit before it.
He, therefore, prayed the appellate court to allow his appeal and set aside the orders made by the Federal High Court.
