The Department of State Services (DSS) has stepped up investigations with a view to arrest and prosecutes the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, over allegations of terrorism financing and fraud, Daily Trust reports.
This is even as the military is said to be providing soldiers to protect the CBN governor both at home and office in a bid to scuttle his arrest, an allegation the defence headquarters has denied.
Following its earlier unsuccessful attempt at arresting the apex bank governor, Daily Trust gathered that the secret police has renewed its investigations into multiple allegations with a view to arresting the embattled Emefiele for possible prosecution.
An online platform, Premium Times, recently published some of the exclusive details it got from court documents on the controversy around the trail for Emefiele, among them funding “unknown gunmen” and members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The federal government had proscribed IPOB, a separatist organisation that calls for secession and working for the establishment of Biafra republic.
an attempt at convincing President Buhari on the need to carry through with the investigations in view of the weighty nature of allegations against the CBN governor.
While making efforts to arrest Emefiele, the CBN governor travelled out of the country as part of President Buhari’s entourage to the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC between December 13 and 15, 2022.
While Buhari returned to Abuja a day after the summit, the CBN governor remained abroad until January, 12, 2023, when he returned to the country.
Daily Trust gathered that upon his return, the Chief of Defence Staff deployed soldiers to provide security to Emefiele and prevent him from being arrested by the DSS.
Although President Buhari was said not to have been informed as at the time the CDS provided the soldiers for Emefiele, a source said the president was only informed afterwards.
A senior DSS operative told Daily Trust in confidence that the soldiers provided by the CDS countermanded the DSS officials who went to arrest Emefiele at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja
