Godwin Emefiele, the embattled dovernor of Nigeria’s Central Bank, was reported to have returned to the country secretly on Wednesday, even as rumours of his planned arrest by the Department of State Service thrives in the air.
Emefiele was part of President Mohammadu Buhari’s entourage on a recent visit to the US reportedly stayed back in the US to attend to his failing health for weeks as the Department of State Security launched an accusation against him, including corruption and terrorism financing.
Some weeks ago, the DSS had quietly sought a court order to arrest Mr Emefiele but the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja rejected the request.
In the application, the DSS wanted the court to order the arrest of the CBN governor over alleged “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.”
The DSS filed the application marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2255/2022 at the court on 7 December 2022.
According to the Premium Times, the CBN governor got the permission of President Muhammadu Buhari for two weeks of leave which expired Tuesday.
“His holidays finished on Tuesday so he has to report to work on Wednesday,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the online news platform further reported that Mr Emefiele is planning to leave the country again very soon, afraid the secret police could eventually arrest him amidst the continuous power play at the Federal Government.
“He is trying to leave within the next few days on the pretence of attending the annual World Economic Forum,” their source said.
However, attempts to reach out to the Senior Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, and the spokesperson for the Central Bank of Nigeria, Osita Nwanisobi, for comments were abortive as of press time on Thursday afternoon. The PUNCH reported
