Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS).
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that this comes after President Bola Tinubu made the decision to suspend Emefiele from his position on Friday evening.
Following his suspension, Emefiele was instructed to transfer the responsibilities of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), who will serve as the acting Central Bank Governor until the investigation and necessary reforms are completed. However, the arrest of Emefiele by the DSS has added a new layer of complexity to the situation.
Recall that the DSS had filed its case (ex-parte motion) against Emefiele on December 7, 2022, seeking permission to arrest, probe and detain him. However, on December 9, a federal high court in Abuja declined the application filed by the DSS.
Emefiele is accused of the following by the DSS:
1. Funding Unknown gunmen, ESN and IPOB 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
This one makes little sense.