Emefiele suspended by Tinubu, arrested by DSS

[p]The suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has reportedly been arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS). The arrest came after Willie Bassey, a Director in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, announced Emefiele's suspension on Friday night.

[p]Following the suspension, Emefiele was asked to hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), who will act as the Central Bank Governor during the investigation and reforms process. The decision to suspend Emefiele was made in light of ongoing investigations into his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the Nigerian economy, as stated by Bassey.

[p]In addition to the suspension, it has been revealed that the DSS had filed an ex-parte motion on December 7, 2022, seeking permission to arrest, probe, and detain Emefiele. The motion was filed on grounds of various allegations against the suspended CBN Governor, including funding unknown gunmen, ESN, and IPOB with money he raised for his failed presidential bid, as well as mismanagement of Nigeria's social investment program and involvement in illegal economic crimes with national security implications.

[p]However, on December 9, a federal high court in Abuja declined the DSS application, stating that such an arrest should have been accompanied by presidential approval due to the potential severe impact on the Nigerian economy. Despite the court's decision at that time, it appears that Emefiele has now been arrested by the DSS.