After several hours of initial denial, Department of State Services, on Saturday afternoon, finally confirmed that suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, is in its custody.
First News had reported how Emefiele was arrested by DSS operatives shortly after he was suspended from office by President Bola Tinubu.
But the secret police had in terse tweet on Saturday morning denied the suspended apex bank boss was in its custody, creating confusion regarding his whereabouts.
But in a statement on Saturday afternoon, DSS spokesperson, Dr Peter Afunanya, confirmed that Emefiele is in the agency’s custody.
According to the 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.”
It was gathered from reliable Presidency and security sources that Emefiele’s suspension was due to many reasons, including his recent role in Naira swap and cashless policy that mopped up the entire money in circulation in the country, and which nearly truncated the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
Recall that President Tinubu had, at the height of the campaigns for the 2023 general elections, raised the alarm that he was the target of Emefiele’s naira policy, insisting that he would certainly win the election despite sabotage from official quarters.
But embattled Emefiele had at various times denied wrong doing, insisting he was discharging his responsibilities as provided by the law.
It was learnt that Emefiele ought to have been suspended long before the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari ended, but he was somehow shielded.
Presidency sources said that they were taken aback by the disinterest shown by Buhari to all the reports containing incontrovertible facts, figures and indicting allegations against the CBN boss by various security agencies regarding the financial malfeasance he was deeply involved in.
DSS, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and many financial regulatory agencies, both in Nigeria and abroad, have levelled one fraud allegation or the other against Emefiele while Buhari’s tenure lasted.
But onn Friday night, President Bola Tinubu suspended Emefiele and directed him to immediately hand over his office to the CBN Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, who was later announced as the acting governor of the apex bank.
A statement signed by the Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey, stated that Emefiele’s suspension by President Tinubu followed an ongoing investigation into his office and planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy.
Following the announcement of Emefiele’s suspension, reports of his arrest by the DSS went viral. But the secret police declined to comment when contacted.