Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS), has taken into custody the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
This development, which came hours after President Bola Tinubu suspended him from office, was confirmed a statement by the agency’s spokesman, Mr. Peter Afunanya who said:
“The Department of State Services (DSS) hereby confirms that Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is now in its custody for some investigative reasons.”
He did not provide details of when and how Emefiele was arrested and where he is being kept.
But it was learned that the ex-governor was picked up from his home in Lagos and then flown to Abuja guarded by a detachment of operatives.
From there, he was reportedly driven to the SSS’ headquarters in the Asokoro District of the nation’s capital when sources said he was being quizzed.
There were speculations Friday night that the DSS arrested Emefiele shortly after he was suspended. But the law enforcement agency tweeted Saturday morning, saying the top banker was not in its custody.
It is unclear why the DSS is holding the embattled official. But the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation said Friday that his office, the CBN, was under investigation.
The SSS and Mr Emefiele have had a turbulent relationship recently. Last year, the agency accused the governor of a barrage of offences.
The DSS secretly requested a court order in December to arrest him on allegations of “financing terrorism, fraudulent activities, and economic crimes of national security dimension.”
This request was, however, rejected by the Federal High Court in Abuja because the secret security unit failed to present sufficient evidence to justify issuing an arrest warrant against him.
He also faced criticism due to his controversial foray into partisan politics, which saw him contest for the presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressive Congress. Although the governor tried to deny his involvement in partisan politics, support groups were calling for his emergence as flagbearer of the ruling party.
The governor’s unprecedented involvement in partisan politics attracted widespread condemnation, with experts expressing worries about the governor’s impartiality and the autonomy of the CBN.
Late on Friday, Afunanya, in a WhatsApp message said: “Inundated. I may not be able to make any confirmations NOW, please.”
He did not categorically state if the suspended CBN Governor had been arrested or not.
On Saturday morning Afunanya dropped another one-sentence response to the situation in a WhatsApp message.
He said: “Currently, Emefiele is not with the DSS.”
Emefiele had been accused by the DSS of offences bordering on terrorism.
In February, it said preliminary investigation revealed various acts of terrorism financing, fraudulent activities allegedly perpetrated by Emefiele, and his alleged involvement in economic crimes of national security dimension.
The DSS had attempted to arrest Emefiele but a Federal High Court in Maitama, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja issued an order restraining the Service from arresting him.
This ruling, delivered by Justice M.A. Hassan also applied to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) who were listed as defendants.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja declined an application filed by the DSS to arrest and detain Emefiele over the allegations against him.
In declining the motion ex parte filed by the secret police, Justice J. T. Tsoho, the Chief Judge, said the DSS did not provide any concrete evidence to substantiate its claims that Emefiele was involved in terrorism financing and economic crimes.
When Emefiele returned to Nigeria after some time away, military personnel and intelligence officers were deployed to ensure that he was not arrested by the DSS.
He had gone to his office after his return with massive security, specifically military protection.
Ex-CBN governor and his troubles
As reported by Premium Times, Emefiele’s foray into politics last year, bidding for the APC’s presidential ticket while still in office as the CBN governor, drew wide condemnation among Nigerians.
In an editorial, the online newspaper reported that one of the credible forces that first exposed Emefiele’s covert presidential bid, called on him to either publicly deny it or resign immediately from office to pursue his political dream.
The CBN still faces criticisms for plunging Nigerians into hardships associated with the scarcity of the newly introduced naira notes. Nigerians, groaning over the scarcity of new naira notes, urged the CBN governor to rescind the policy.
The redesigned 200, 500, and 1000 notes were hard to come by at Automated Teller Machines – the only place where money could be withdrawn.
But Emefiele only extended the deadline by 10 days from 31 January to 10 February, which many said is insufficient to address the acute shortage of the new notes.
The then-presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, in a veiled reference to the monetary policy, condemned the scarcity of the new banknotes, adding that it was a ploy to scuttle his chances of winning the election.
Appearing before the House of Representatives, Emefiele explained that old naira notes would be accepted by banks even after the 10 February deadline.
A law professor, Joshua Alobo, had sued the CBN seeking an extension of the deadline.
The apex bank had on 26 October 2022, announced the introduction of redesigned 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes into the financial system.
But access to the new notes remains a herculean task as people thronged ATMs in a bid to withdraw money.
