The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has launched a full-scale investigation of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, over alleged questionable financial dealing of the CBN under his watch.
Emefiele is being held and interrogated by the EFCC operatives over $15 billion foreign debts after he left the custody of the Department of State Service (DSS) on Thursday.
The ex – CBN Governor will also be grilled in connection to the spending of whopping N74.84 billion by the apex bank to print and roll out currencies, including new naira notes that many believed caused hardship and economic dislocations.
These are in addition to alleged fraud uncovered by the Special Investigator, Jim Obazee, who is looking into the activities of the CBN.
Obazee, whose committee is collaborating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the Nigeria Police, has also submitted an interim report on the CBN to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Emefiele was transferred from the DSS to the EFCC because the fresh investigation is not covered by the mandate of the security agency.
The DSS does not have the core competence to investigate the weighty allegations of financial crimes against Emefiele, it was learnt.
There were fears that if the DSS continues with the investigation, the ex-CBN governor might legally slip off the hand of the secret police on technical grounds by using the judiciary.
According to The Nation report, sources said only the EFCC can put Emefiele on trial, not the DSS, based on the findings made so far.
Emefiele was transferred (technically released) to EFCC on Thursday afternoon to allow for in-depth investigation and trial.
The swap was kept under wraps in order to avoid what the source described as a “distraction.”
Having appraised the allegations against Emefiele and the interim report on the ongoing probe of the CBN, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) sent an advisory to the President that the EFCC is the right agency to probe Emefiele, it was learnt.
“As a man of due process, the President approved the advisory of the AGF. It was on this basis that the DSS handed over Emefiele to the EFCC on Thursday,” The Nation learnt yesterday.
About two to three weeks ago, the Special Investigator on CBN activities, Jim Obazee, submitted an interim report to the President with a lot of findings requiring in-depth investigation. This was another reason the AGF was very strong in his opinion that the EFCC should manage the ongoing probe.
“The truth is that such an investigation is not within the mandate of the DSS. Or else, if Emefiele is put on trial by the DSS, he will win on technical grounds,” the highly placed source said.
At press time, it was confirmed that a panel of EFCC operatives had started grilling Emefiele on the allegations against him, including the following:
•Alleged foreign debts of $15 billion
•Spending of N74. 84 billion on Naira redesign, production and roll out of currencies
•Alleged fraud in Anchor Borrowers Scheme
•Suspicious audit of CBN accounts
•Acquisition of bank, Fintech licences by some top officials of CBN
•Award of suspicious billions of Naira contracts
Another source in EFCC added: “Emefiele is in our custody and he is already responding to issues or allegations raised for him from a team under the supervision of the Director of Operation, Abdulkarim Chukkol.
“As a commission, we won’t talk on his case in order not to compromise ongoing investigation.”
The Nation
