Lagos, July 2, 2024 – A federal high court in Lagos has ordered the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to pay N3 million as damages for illegally declaring Margaret Emefiele wanted,
Margaret is the Wife of Godwin Emefiele, the embattled former CBN Governor.
The EFCC had declared Margaret along with three others wanted over alleged money laundering and had published their photos and details on its website and social media pages.
She was alleged to have colluded with her husband to divert huge sums from federal government’s coffers.
Margaret then sued the EFCC and its chairman for declaring her a wanted person and publishing her photograph on its website without any valid court order.
She prayed the court to order the EFCC to remove her name and photograph from the wanted persons’ list and to apologise to her for the alleged rights infringement in two national television stations and three newspapers.
In his judgment on Friday, Justice Deinde Dipeolu agreed that it was illegal for the EFCC to have published Margaret’s name and photograph as a wanted person without complying with the provisions of Sections 41 and 42 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and without any valid charge and/or a court order to that effect.
The court reprimanded the EFCC for acting illegally in declaring Margaret wanted.
The court ruled that the publication of the applicant’s name and photograph on the website of the respondent as having been declared “WANTED” without complying with the provisions of Sections 41 and 42 of the ACJA, and without any valid Charge and/or Court Order to that effect, amounts to a violation of the Applicant’s fundamental rights to the dignity of her person, right to personal liberty, freedom of movement and right to security.
“As guaranteed under Sections 34, 35 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Articles 5, 6 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (CAP A9) VOL.1 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2011.
“The respondent is directed to immediately withdraw the publication of the applicant’s name and photographs from the list of persons wanted by the respondents on its website.
“The respondents are directed to issue a public apology to the applicant on its website where the name and photographs of the applicant were published among the list of persons wanted.
“The sum of N3 million is awarded against the respondents jointly and severally in favour of the applicant for the violation of her fundamental rights.”
