The suspended Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has been arrested by the Department of Security Service, DSS.
President Ahmed Tinubu suspended the Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, from office with immediate effect.
This is sequel to the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy.
The Department of State Services (DSS) arrested the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, over allegations of terrorism financing and fraud, and in view to investigate and prosecute him.
An online platform, Premium Times, recently published some of the exclusive details it got from court documents on the controversy around the trail for Emefiele, among them funding “unknown gunmen” and members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
In the report by the online medium, Emefiele was also accused of sabotaging President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, financing terrorism, aiding and abetting terrorism, and committing other economic crimes with the effect of undermining Nigeria’s national security.
It also accused the CBN governor of mismanaging the CBN subsidiary, NIRSAL, and the central bank’s Anchor Borrowers Programme.
The DSS alleged that Emefiele funded IPOB/ESN with both the resources he raised for his failed presidential bid last year and funds diverted from government coffers.
The secret government agency also accused Emefiele of “fraud, money laundering, round tripping and conferment of financial benefit to self and others.”
It said he mismanaged various interventionist funds of the government under his control and concluded that “investigation is still ongoing on a wider scale as other members of the syndicate chain need to be identified and arrested to enable successful prosecution.”
Daily Trust reports that Emefiele had vied for the presidential ticket on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) last year.
Efforts by Daily Trust to get his reaction to the allegations labelled against him by the DSS were not successful as his office did not respond to enquiries.
However, the CBN governor had at the height of the controversy surrounding his political aspiration said that the presidential form and other logistics were bankrolled by his admirers and denied any wrongdoing.
He also approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to obtain an order affirming his right to jostle for the APC’s ticket. But the court on 9 May refused to grant Emefiele’s prayer.
Multiple sources told this newspaper that the DSS is not relenting in unravelling all the suspicions around the CBN governor with a view to bringing him to book.
Daily Trust reports that Emefiele, who has been governor since 2014, is the first person to serve two terms as the head of Nigeria’s apex bank in nearly 20 years. He was first appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan in June 2014, after Sarah Alade served out the term of the suspended Lamido Sanusi.
A team of four lawyers from the DSS legal department filed its case (ex parte motion) against Emefiele on 7 December, 2022, seeking permission to detain him for 60 days to conclude an ongoing investigation of his alleged atrocities.
10 Allegations On Emefiele By DSS
1. Funding Unknown gunmen, ESN and IPO*B with money he raised for his failed presidential bid last year and funds diverted from government coffers
2. Mismanagement of Nigeria’s social investment program (NISRAL and the Anchor Borrowers Scheme)
3. Illegal economic crimes of National security dimension
4. Money Laundering
5. Unwholesome activities through proxies
6. Round tripping
7. Conferment of financial benefits to self and others
8. Threat to National Security
9. Criminal conspiracy to divert government resources
10. Terrorism financing
The House Of Representatives Committee is also Investigating CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele Over The Alledged Missing 48 Million Barrels Of Bonny Light Crude .
Suspended CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele Will Give Account Of N32.5bn Paid To Two Companies Without Documentation Or Records.
