Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has now spent a total of six days in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), although it is unclear from this point on whether or not he will face criminal charges.
Emefiele was detained by the DSS last Friday night, not long after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had suspended him.
The DSS confirmed Emefiele was in their custody for investigative purposes on Saturday through spokesman Peter Afunanya.
Although he did not specify the causes, it was assumed that Emefiele’s troubles were related to claims of terrorism and financial irregularities at the top bank.
The Service last December attempted to get a court order to arrest the CBN Governor over alleged “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.”
This was however unsuccessful as the court decided the DSS did not provide any concrete evidence to substantiate its claims that Emefiele was involved in terrorism financing and economic crimes.
The Service, it was reported, was expected to approach the court last Tuesday to obtain an order to keep the embattled CBN Boss longer in custody to enable it to carry out a comprehensive interrogation.
However, at of the time of filing this report, it could not be established that such an order had been obtained.
“This is a sensitive matter and I cannot say much. But the DSS is working to ensure it establishes a watertight case on this matter. Investigations are ongoing. I can’t say more for now. Let us watch and see how it unfolds,” the source said.
The DSS also invited Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday.
Afunanya, in a statement late on Wednesday, said Bawa was in custody.
“Bawa arrived a few hours ago. The invitation relates to some investigative activities concerning him,” Afunanya said.
He did not give further details.