CBN: Emefiele Now in Our Custody

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

Following the suspension of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, by President Bola Tinubu, the Department of State Security (DSS) has said the   Emefiele is   now in the custody of agency.

The confirmation came on Saturday.

A statement signed by the Spokesman of DSS, Peter Afunanya, said Emefiele was under investigation and in the custody of the agency.

“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”, it said. 

There were earlier false reports that he was arrested by the DSS on Friday. It was however confirmed that Emefiele was at home reviewing his handover note

The earlier false arrest was reported shortly after President Bola Tinubu suspended Emefiele.

However, in a tweet Saturday morning, DSS said the suspended CBN boss was not in the custody of the agency.

“Currently, Emefiele is not with the DSS”, Spokesman of the agency, Peter Afunanya, tweeted Saturday morning.

Prior to Emefiele’s suspension, the DSS, on December 7, 2022, in an exparte application with reference no: FHC/ABJ/CS/2255/2022, sought an order to arrest the CBN Governor.

The security agency accused Emefiele of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.

The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice J.T Tsoho, however, refused to grant the application of the DSS.

The court said such an application should have been accompanied with the presidential approval because of the grave implications for the Nigerian economy if the CBN governor was arrested and detained.