Business Post Contributor
By Bliss Okperan
The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was picked up by the EFCC operatives on Thursday night, less than an hour after he regained his freedom from the cell of the Department of the State Services (DSS).
He was first arrested by the secret police on June 9, 2023, after he was suspended from office by President Bola Tinubu.
Mr Emefiele was arraigned for an alleged N6.9 billion procurement fraud at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja. He was granted bail on July 25, but the DSS refused to let him go after meeting the conditions.
In August, the federal government filed a fresh 20-count charge bordering on “conferring unlawful advantages” while he was in office.
On September 22, Mr Emefiele was said to have resigned as the Governor of the CBN and his position was first handed over to Mr Folashodun Shonubi in an acting capacity before making Mr Olayemi Cardoso the substantive head of the organisation.
In a report by Punch, it was stated that Mr Emefiele is being grilled at the Abuja headquarters of the EFCC.
“Yes, Emefiele is currently in our (EFCC) custody; he was arrested last night less than an hour after the DSS freed him.
“He’s currently being interrogated at the Headquarters, as he’s being investigated for alleged misappropriation of funds amongst other things during his term as CBN governor,” the newspaper quoted a source as saying.
Mr Emefiele became unpopular to President Bola Tinubu and many Nigerians in the build-up to the 2023 presidential election in February because of the Naira redesign policy, which made cash a scarce commodity.
Mr Tinubu, in one of his campaigns, hinted that the policy was introduced to frustrate his chances at the polls.
The former CBN chief got involved in politics while in office when he intended to contest the presidential poll under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
