Tuesday is when the Department of State Services is most likely to ask the court for permission to hold Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, in jail while he is being questioned.
One of our correspondents was told by a source in the DSS that the secret police would likely ask the court to grant them permission to hold the suspended CBN boss in custody for an indefinite period so that they could question him freely.
Emefiele has been temporarily removed from office by President Bola Tinubu, effective immediately.
According to the announcement, Emefiele was instructed to immediately transfer control of his office’s business to Mr. Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), who will serve as the CBN governor until the investigation and reforms are complete.
The suspended top bank official was detained on Saturday in Lagos by DSS agents and transported to Abuja on a private jet.
The suspended top bank executive was seen being transported to the tarmac in an unmarked Hilux van by security personnel in a viral video. He was brought into a waiting jet where security personnel were waiting to meet him after getting out of the car. One of the agents was holding a set of handcuffs as he followed Emefiele intently.
The source stated, “He (Emefiele) is going to be with us for some time. We may obtain a court order to further detain him. The previous charges against him are there and further investigations may add to that. You know that he is a big man, and we have to make sure that the loose ends are tightened before we take him to court.
“Recall that we were looking for him before his suspension. Now that we have him, we will hear from him; hear what he has to say on those issues we have highlighted before.”
The insider went on to say that the DSS had assembled a group of expert questioners to grill Emefiele on a variety of subjects, including alleged financing of terrorism and poor management of the economy and the central bank.
“We have a team of interrogators, who are going to quiz and obtain statements from him. We won’t bungle our case. But honestly, Nigerians need to know what happened and why we were looking for him the other time,” the source added.
According to Sunday The Spectator, the impending cleansing of the top echelons of the central bank is preceded by Emefiele’s incarceration.
On Saturday, it was learned that further CBN top executives would be questioned as part of a thorough investigation into Emefiele’s administration, as ordered by the President.
Reliable sources stated that the special advisers of the troubled governor as well as senior personnel in the CBN procurement department would likely be targeted by the secret police.
A source stated, “One of those under the radar of the DSS is a special adviser to the CBN governor.
“He retired from the CBN in 2021 as a director but was retained by Emefiele as a special adviser. He is believed to have an inside knowledge of all the actions taken by Emefiele.
“Other subjects of interest are senior officials and directors in the procurement department. The fact is that many top directors will be invited or arrested for questioning in the weeks ahead.”
One of our correspondents discovered that Emefiele, his associates, and other top executives would be questioned about a number of matters relating to loans totaling billions of naira made to farmers under the Fadama scheme, which were allegedly tainted by fraud; the contentious sale of Polaris Bank, which was also allegedly riddled with irregularities; the alleged financing of the Indigenous People of Biafra by the suspended CBN boss; and other allegations bordering on
The CBN executives are also anticipated to face difficult questioning over the apex bank’s fiscal policies, especially how the naira redesign policy was handled. This policy triggered a nationwide economic crisis that resulted in rioting, bank attacks, and the deaths of some people. It also generated a shortage of naira notes.
“Their level of complicity will determine if they will retain their jobs or face prosecution at the end of investigation,” another source stated.
Dr. Peter Afunaya, the DSS spokesman, earlier on Saturday confirmed that the
the suspended CBN governor was in their custody and will be questioned.
He said in a statement, “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.
“The public, particularly the media, is enjoined to apply utmost caution in the reportage and narratives concerning this.”
This was in response to Afunaya’s earlier claim that Emefiele was not yet in the secret police’s custody.
