Weeks after the suspension of Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu has explained why he made the decision at a critical phase of Nigeria’s economy.
The President said, while holding an interactive session with Nigerians in France and neighboring countries, that he decided to suspend the CBN Governor because he messed up the nation’s financial system.
Emefiele was suspended on June 9, 2023, to give room for investigations into allegations leveled against him as the head of Nigeria’s apex bank.
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“Then the financial system was rotten. Few people made bags of money and then you yourself, you stopped sending money home to our poor parents. Several windows. But that is gone now. It’s gone.
“The man is in the hands of the authorities. Something is being done about that. They will sort themselves out,” the president said.
Before his suspension, the Department of State Services (DSS) had made attempts to arrest Emefiele, alleging that he was involved in terrorism financing and other financial crimes. Perceived to have been protected by Buhari’s government, Emefiele was subsequently arrested following the presidential inauguration of Tinubu.
The DSS has listed in an affidavit of facts presented in court while seeking an order to detain the embattled ex-governor, allegations bordering on economic crimes and undermining national security.
The secret service said Emefiele was arrested “upon reasonable suspicion of committing acts which constitute a criminal breach of trust, incitement to violence, criminal misappropriation of public funds, economic sabotage, economic crimes of national security dimension and undermining the security of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
On these grounds, the DSS and the Office of Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF) on Tuesday asked the Federal Capital Territory High Court not to grant Emefiele bail, describing him as a “flight risk.”
However, despite Tinubu’s explanation, the belief that he is being vindictive over the naira redesign policy, which he decried during the presidential campaign as a ploy to scuttle his presidential ambition, has continued to be upheld by many.
Emefiele introduced the naira redesign policy late last year, before electoral campaigns. The president believed the policy, which resulted in a nationwide cash scarcity, was part of a ploy by elements in Buhari’s government who did not want him to succeed.
Emefiele’s involvement in politics was also fingered as part of the reasons the present administration is prosecuting him. The former CBN head had obtained a presidential nomination form under the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) while still in office.
In March, Senator Shehu Sani, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the 8th Assembly, predicted that Emefiele’s life would be made miserable by the incoming administration of ‘president-elect’, Tinubu. The former lawmaker said “When Baba [Buhari] is gone, Emefiele will be like Zebra in the hands of Tigers.”
However, in its affidavit, the OAGF debunked the belief that Emefiele is being scapegoated. It said the former central bank head is neither being held for terrorist-related crimes nor being victimized for his involvement in politics and the botched naira redesign policy.
“Issues of terrorism financing and fraudulent activities are not part of the grounds for the arrest and detention of the applicant,” the OAGF stated.