Embattled CBN chief Emefiele secretly returns to Nigeria

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, quietly returned to the country on Wednesday, sources in the apex bank and the president have told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr. Emefiele has been out of the country for weeks fearing he will be arrested by State Security Service (SSS) officers who are investigating several allegations against him, including corruption and terrorism financing.

However, a source in the presidency told PREMIUM TIMES that the CBN governor got President Muhammadu Buhari’s permission for a two-week leave that expires Tuesday.

“Pirane finished yesterday, so he has to report to work today,” the source said.

PREMIUM TIMES also learned that Mr. Emefiele is planning to leave the country again, fearing the secret police may finally arrest him amid the ongoing power struggle at the highest levels of the Nigerian government.

“He is trying to leave in the next few days under the pretense of attending the annual World Economic Forum,” our source said.

The Senior Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, and the spokesperson of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Osita Nwanisobi, did not respond to calls and text messages sent to them on the matter on Thursday morning.

SSS asked for detention

PREMIUM TIMES reported how, in December, the SSS secretly get a court order to arrest Mr. Emefiele. The Federal High Court, Abuja, dismissed the SSS’ request.

In the application, the SSS wants the court to order the arrest of the CBN governor for “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of the national security dimension.”

SSS filed an application with the signature FHC/ABJ/CS/2255/2022 in court on December 7, 2022. Mr. Emefiele is the sole defendant in the suit which was filed ‘ex parte’, meaning Mr. Emefiele was not notified of the suit.

But the judge, John Tsoho, in a decision on December 9, rejected the application on the grounds that the secret police failed to provide enough evidence to warrant the issuance of an arrest warrant against Mr. Emefiele.

This newspaper reported how the judge said the depositions in the affidavit submitted by the SSS in support of its application “purport preliminary investigation has revealed various acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities perpetrated by the respondent and involvement in economic crimes dimension of national security. .”

In rejecting the application, the judge said: “These are certainly serious allegations, but the applicant has not provided any concrete evidence to support them.”

Mr. Tsoho also accused the SSS of lying, saying the secret police failed to show that ‘Godwin Emefiele’, who was charged with the order, was the same as the CBN governor.

“The respondent in this application is named ‘Godwin Emefiele’ without declaring his status or position anywhere; not even in the affidavit,” the judge said.

Mr. Tsoho decided that considering the sensitive position that Mr. Emefiele holds, permission from Mr. Buhari should be sought before the bank chief is arrested.

“It is left to speculate whether ‘Godwin Emefiele’ is the same person as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. If so, then he cannot be considered the highest public official in Nigeria and indeed occupies a sensitive position as one of the main drivers of the country’s economy.

“Therefore, this type of application must have proof of the approval of the respondent’s boss, that the step should be taken.”

Emefiele got a lifeline

Meanwhile, about two weeks after Mr. Tsoho ruled, Mr. Emefiele got another retrial from a separate court.

Federal Capital Territory High Court granted the request by civil society organizations to prevent the arrest of the bank chief.

The judge, Muslim Hassan, of the FCT court ruled that based on Mr. Tsoho’s previous decision, “any persistent harassment, intimidation, threats, restriction of movement, abuse of office rights, secret movements for detention, and humiliation” of Mr. Emefiele, through “trumped accusations rise of the financing of terrorism and fraudulent practices” was illegal and unconstitutional.

The judge also restrained the SSS “from instigating the arrest or detention, interrogation and detention” of Mr. Emefiele on matters or policy decisions on the Nigerian economy “or for any purpose except by order of the High Court.”

controversy / Emefiele’s wisdom

Mr. Emefiele has been in the news for the wrong reasons in recent times.

Amidst the deteriorating economic situation in Nigeria, partly due to the misguided policies of the CBN, incl breaking the law itselfMr. Emefiele decided to move into active politics while holding office.

He not only joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but aspired to become the president of Nigeria on the party’s platform. Mr. Emefiele is the first CBN governor in Nigeria to openly partisan and seek elective office.

Although he got the APC nomination form, he had to withdraw from the presidential race, after allegedly spending billions of naira including on publicity, due to public anger and alleged failure to secure President Buhari’s support for his ambition.

Mr. Emefiele has also faced criticism for the CBN’s new policy of redesigning the country’s top currencies: N200, N500 and N1000. The apex bank also set a January 31 limit for the validity of old notes.

However, a few weeks before the expiry of the deadline, Nigerians continue to lament the implementation of the policy as new notes are scarce while banks continue to issue old notes.

Mr. Emefiele’s controversial absence from the country has been a source of worry for stakeholders in the banking sector ahead of the CBN’s first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the year scheduled for January 23. The CBN boss chairs the MPC meeting where key monetary policy decisions are taken as part of the apex bank’s efforts to control inflation, regulate banking operations, and stabilize the larger economy.