Situating the Anti-Emefiele, Yakubu Blitzkrieg
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By Louis Achi
Like a pack of ravenous wolves, the apparently highly organised forces closed in on their quarries. But they made fundamental miscalculations. Indisputably, it takes uncommon mafia-type intrigues and boldness to contrive grounds and then mount the kind of blitzkrieg to take down the heads of two critical flagship institutions of state. Worse, these hugely puzzling and bizarre attempts were at the penumbra of a make-or-mar democratic transition.
The targeted gentlemen are the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele and Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu. The policies both have berthed would clearly, positively impact the organisational integrity of the looming February/March 2023 general elections. Seemingly, many old politicians with last-ditch political ambitions would have none of these – by hook or crook.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the emerging view in some quarters is that only a force or forces operating with the kind of influence and funding at the level of Pablo Emillio Escobar, the late Colombian drug lord and founder of the Medellin cartel could pull the kind of audacious stunt that unfolded in past few weeks in Nigeria.
But in all these high-octane plots to remove Emefiel and Yaubu on specious, trumped up charges, one fact stood out starkly and ultimately saved the day:
President Muhammadu Buhari who appointed these top officials was stoutly behind them. President Buhari has repeatedly assured Nigerian that he wants to leave an untainted electoral transition legacy and an economy reasonably stabilised even against the enervating vagaries of the global village.
It came to light recently in a strange drama that the State Security Services (SSS) has surreptitiously sought the order of a Federal High Court in Abuja, to arrest the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele. The secret police had filed an ex parte application for an order for the arrest of the CBN governor over alleged “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.”
The SSS had filed the application marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2255/2022 at the court on December 7, 2022, suing Emefiele as the sole respondent in the ex parte application. But an alert Justice John Tsoho, who is the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, in a ruling on December 9, 2022, rejected the application on the grounds that the secret police failed to provide sufficient evidence to warrant the issuance of an arrest warrant against Emefiele.
According to the judge, the depositions in the affidavit filed by the SSS in support of its application “purport that preliminary investigation has revealed various acts of terrorism financing, fraudulent activities perpetrated by the respondent and his involvement in economic crimes of national security dimension.”
But rejecting the application, the judge said: “These are no doubt grave allegations, but which the applicant has not presented any concrete evidence to support.” He also insisted the SSS failed to clearly identify the person against whom the arrest warrant was sought, observing it remained speculation whether the person was the same Godwin Emefiele serving as the CBN governor.
He further noted that if the targeted person was the incumbent CBN governor, there was the need to obtain the approval of his boss, presumably referring to President Buhari, for his arrest given the crucial roles he plays in driving the economy. He said there was no evidence in SSS’ application that such approval was obtained.
The judge further noted that “The respondent in this application is named as ‘Godwin Emefiele’ without disclosure of his status or position anywhere; not even in the affidavit. It is left to speculation if the ‘Godwin Emefiele’ is the same person as the serving Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“If it is, then he is unarguably a high-ranking public official in Nigeria and indeed occupies a sensitive position as one of the key drivers of the nation’s economy. Therefore, an application of this kind should have evidence of the approval of the respondent’s boss, that such measures are authorised to be taken.”
The respected Justice Tsoho also finally noted that with or without a court order, the SSS had the power to arrest Emefiele based on reasonable suspicion, but that the agency’s lack of concrete evidence must have driven it to seek the court’s arrest warrant to serve as a cover for an irregular procedure.
Curiously, the ruling came to public knowledge after a protest by a civic coalition, comprising the Arewa Youth Consultative Movement and public interest lawyers, in Abuja. Significantly, reacting to the pro-Mr Emefiele group criticising the SSS’ move to arrest the CBN governor on Monday, the agency through its spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, warned Nigerians against being used to “undermine” its investigations.
Proffering charges bothering on “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension,” are by any parameters extreme – and worse when they are unproven and not provable, this demand a stern censure targeting whoever contrived them.
Emerging facts indicate that the plot to nail Emefiele stems from politicians uncomfortable with the economic reform policy of the bank, especially the re-designation of the naira. Many informed observers believe that if truly the SSS had concrete issues linking the CBN governor to terrorism financing, it would not have allowed him to travel with President Buhari to Washington, US on December 11, 2022, to join other African leaders at the US -Africa Leaders’ Summit.
Here, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami needs to step in and hold a conversation with the Director-General of SSS, Yusuf Bichi as the latter is being accused of being used by politicians to derail the CBN’s new cashless policy – especially as they are uncomfortable with the new CBN policies in the lead-up to the 2023 general elections.
With little question, CBN’s withdrawal limits and the currency re-designation will undercut the amount of cash desperate politicians, especially those who see 2023 general elections as their last window, can stockpile for illegitimate voter inducement and bribery of security personnel and other relevant officials during the looming elections.
Professor of Economics at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Sheriffdeen Tella, nailed it when he recently observed that recent policies by the CBN have been unfriendly to the political environment. His words: “Some of the CBN policies are not very favourable to the politicians in particular.”
Even before the Emefiele saga climaxed, these same unrelenting forces had turned their gun sights on the INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu – using a proxy which also loudly failed. This particular devil’s project had smouldered for long until last week’s court ruling rubbished it.
Resolutely burying the contrived, hare-brained plot last week, Justice M. A. Hassan of the FCT High Court in a judgment he delivered, dismissed a suit challenging the legitimacy of the assets declared by INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu, for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
Subsequently, he barred security agencies from investigating the INEC boss over his valid assets declaration. According to the judgment, contrary to the claim of the claimant, Somadina Uzoabaka, the Assets Declaration Form of Yakubu was lawful, valid and in compliance with the law.
Uzoabaka had in the suit sought for the removal of Yakubu as INEC Chairman over alleged falsehood in his Assets Declaration Form. Defendants in the Originating Summons marked FCT/HC/GAR/CV/47/202 are the Attorney General of the Federation and Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
The claimant had sought among other things an order of mandatory injunction directing and compelling the INEC Chairman to recuse, excuse and exclude himself and or step down as the Chairman of INEC pending the investigation and consideration of the various allegations against him by the various law enforcement agencies. The quirky claimant also sought an order of Court barring the INEC Chairman from holding or assuming any public office for a period of 10 years.
Expectedly, several chairmen of political parties in the country enthusiastically hailed the judgment of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) which declared that the Assets Declaration Form of the INEC boss was validly filled, lawful and in compliance with the law.
Despite significant challenges, under Emefiele, Africa’s biggest economy had recorded notable growth in banks’ credit to the private sector by 92.79 per cent year-on-year to N32.64 billion as of June 2021, up from N16.93bn in June 2014, when Emefiele became the governor. The huge increase in banks’ credit growth was also attributed to the loan-to-deposit ratio policy introduced by the governor in September 2019.
Under the CBN’s development finance initiatives, N756.51bn to 3,734,938 was granted to small-holder farmers cultivating 4.6 million hectares of land. About N120.24bn was extended for the 2021 wet season to 627,051 farmers for 847,484 hectares of land, under the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme. For the Agribusiness/Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme, N121.57bn was disbursed to 32,617 beneficiaries; and for the Targeted Credit Facility, N318.17bn was released to 679,422 beneficiaries, comprising 572,189 households and 107,233 Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.
Under the INEC boss’ tenure significant positives in electoral integrity management have been evolved including the BIVAS and several others. It is against this background that greedy and very desperate politicians trying to derail or warp the 2023 general elections must be resisted and properly shamed.
And most importantly, credit must go to Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) which mobilised to confront the skulking ‘coupists’ and especially President Buhari for holding firmly and thwarting the wolves.
