A Department of State Services (DSS) appeal seeking an order extending the detention of the controversial Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was rejected by a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.

According to reports, the DSS legal team secretly submitted the request on Wednesday in light of allegedly obtaining fresh information.

Justice Hamza Muazu rejected the application, while making a reference to an abuse of the legal system and a lack of jurisdiction.

The DSS made the request after the agency had previously detained Emefiele outside of the Lagos courthouse following the judge’s mandatory ruling that the suspended governor be held in a correctional facility while his bail conditions were being met.

Given that the Magistrate Court has exclusive authority to issue orders for custody under Sections 293 and 296 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the DSS’s attorney, Victor Ejelonu, opted out of the case after the judge questioned the court’s jurisdiction.