By Jane Okafor Abuja
The Department of State Services (DSS) has taken the embattled suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, into its custody after he was arrested.
This is coming hours after the DSS had earlier stated that Emefiele was not in its custody.
It confirmed the new development on its official Twitter handle.
The embattled CBN Governor was suspended on Friday by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to pave way for continuation of ongoing investigations into the office of Emefiele.
The development it was learnt has thrown many prominent Nigerians, particularly some chief executives and directors of both the CBN and dozens of the country’s money lending banks.
The Daily Crucible had in its 23, January publication reported that the Nigerian secret police summoned Emefiele and 10 – member Board of Directors, including the four deputy governors and six non-Executive Directors to answer further questions concerning forex allocations in about the last 6 years.
Also summoned at the time to appear before the DSS were the Chief Executive Officers/Managing Directors of 27 commercial banks in the country.
The apportioning of the country’s forex had left some critical sectors like the manufacturers struggling and rarely able to get 21 per cent of their forex requests from the CBN, a development that compelled the Paint Manufacturers Association of Nigeria late last year to decry the scarcity of foreign exchange for use by members.
The association was reported to have lamented that the situation was hurting some producers’ capacity to keep their factories producing.
Emefiele, as the Chairman of the apex bank’s Board of Directors, was expected to lead other members of the Board to the DSS headquarters in Abuja months back.
The CBN Board of Directors is statutorily empowered to deliberate and approve forex allocations based on requests, before disbursement.
However, DSS’ probe of the forex allocations, it was learnt, led to the shocking discovery that the forex allocations meant for particularly people in business and investments who really needed and applied for it, were flowing into the pockets of few privileged, influential and highly placed individuals, including Presidency officials and their cronies.
Those who needed it for business and investments were left to grapple with scarcity of forex.
It was also gathered that preliminary report on forex allocations in the past six years under Emefiele as CBN Gov “is very shocking,” and according to a reliable source, “Nigerians as well as the international community will be surprised at what has been discovered.”
Emefiele did not honour the DSS invitation at the time and did not also visit the secret police headquarters along with the other directors of the apex bank and the commercial bank CEOs.
On the contrary, Emefiele, through a Civil Society Organisation, Forum for Accountability and Good Leadership, obtained a fresh court injunction in January from a Federal Capital Territory High Court restraining the DSS from questioning and obtaining any information from CBN officials and the CEOs of the 27 commercial banks regarding Foreign Exchange allocations from 2017 to date.
The suspended CBN Gov’s major reason for rushing to court at the time was to stop the commercial banks from releasing the details about forex allocations to the DSS, it was learnt.
But unknown to him, the DSS had, before the court granted the order, questioned and obtained documentary evidence from his deputies at CBN as well as from the 27 bank CEOs on forex allocations in the past six years, as several of the banks had also fully complied with the DSS’ request.
Following his discovery that most of the commercial banks had complied with the DSS’ request on information concerning the matter, apprehensive Emefiele summoned the banks’ MDs to Abuja for a “crucial meeting” last January where he “strategised” with them on how to deal with the invitation by the secret police.
Also, at the Abuja meeting, it was resolved then that the remaining commercial banks that had yet to comply with the DSS’ request for information on forex allocations should “doctor their reports.”
Besides, the DSS had recently accused Emefiele of allegedly aiding and abetting terrorism, insisting that he must be prosecuted for the alleged crimes.
According to the secret police, preliminary investigations revealed Emefiele’s involvement in various acts of terrorism financing, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.
But the embattled CBN boss while the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari lasted, employed all means to escape arrest and interrogation by the DSS. He recently delayed his return to Nigeria after a trip abroad. He was also said to have engaged some close associates of the then President Buhari to help him prevail on the DSS to let him off the hook. He was also accused of deploying propaganda through organised public protests and demonstrations by CSOs, all in a bid to stop his investigations by the DSS.
A nephew and close confidant of former President Buhari, Mamman Daura and a northern governor were said to be the arrowheads of the highly influential and powerful politicians pressuring the DSS DG, Yusuf Bichi at the time to let go of Emefiele, resulting in the inability of the secret police to interrogate him on the allegations leveled against him.
But his fate changed as the tide changed too with the new sheriff in town as represented by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who gave directive for his suspension to allow for unimpeded investigations into the office of Emefiele.
And in March this year, a coalition of 259 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) called on the then President Muhammadu Buhari to direct Mr Godwin Emefiele, to step aside from office and submit himself for unhindered investigations by relevant security agencies.
The CSOs had said the call became urgent and necessary following alleged terrorism financing and other allegations levelled against the suspended apex bank boss by the Department of State Services(DSS).
In the light of this, it was learnt on Saturday evening that a pall of fear and anxiety raged in the circles of top bank executives, directors and some of the nation’s big politicians who’re palpably worried that the already jittery Emefiele may cave in soon, and name names to the DSS operatives and investigators when grilled in connection to the allegations against him.
… FFK Mocks Suspended CBN Governor
Meanwhile, former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani – Kayode has mocked the troubled Godwin Emefiele over his arrest and detention by Department of State Service (DSS).
Chief Kayode who believed power and money turned Emefiele into a “villainous” CBN Governor, wished him more sharp thorns and horrors as he walks his current challenging path.
He stated, “… You believed that money was greater than God and you thought that your repugnant and villainous reign would never end.
“O Godwin, I have never wished a man ill in my entire life but in your case I make an exception.
“May your pathway be filled with sharp thorns, the horrors of the night and pain and may the Angel of the Lord pursue you along a dark and slippery path.
‘May your story and end be a graphic example and instructive reminder to the evil and wicked that man is nothing before God, that earthly power is ephemeral and transient, that all power belongs to the Living God and that the Lord alone rules in the affairs of men and forges the destiny of nations.”
