The suspended head of Nigeria’s central bank, who was detained earlier this month, poses a threat to the nation’s security and should be denied bail, the secret police said in a court filing.
An investigation is under way into whether Godwin Emefiele committed economic sabotage and breached national security rules, according to the filing by the State Security Service, dated June 20 and seen by Bloomberg. Other allegations leveled against Emefiele include that he was party to a criminal breach of trust, incitement of violence and the criminal misappropriation of public funds, the SSS said.
Emefiele “will be immediately charged” in court “where necessary” once the probe is complete, the SSS said. He has “enormous resources at his disposal and can easily interfere with ongoing investigation and even evade subsequent arrest if released on bail,” it said.
President Bola Tinubu, who took office late last month, has called for an overhaul of the way the central bank conducts itself, and suspended Emefiele on June 9, the day before he was arrested. The SSS has said it has obtained a court order to hold the governor for at least 14 days to give it more time to complete its investigations.
Just hours after Emefiele’s suspension, SSS agents “illegally invaded” his residence, his lawyers said in bail proceedings before the High Court in the capital, Abuja. The security officials then “unlawfully blindfolded, arrested and detained” Emefiele “in sub-human condition,” according to the filings dated June 13.
Emefiele is the victim of “a political witch-hunt,” according to his bail application. The government of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who handed over to Tinubu on May 29, was “eminently satisfied with the monetary policies” under Emefiele, it said.
The SSS said in response that the agency is “apolitical” and Emefiele’s arrest was unrelated to his policies, including the central bank’s efforts to replace high-denomination naira notes in the run-up to February’s election. Those reforms were unpopular with Tinubu’s allies, who accused Emefiele of deliberately undermining the ruling party’s prospects at the polls.
There was no response to an email seeking comment that was sent to lawyers representing Emefiele. The SSS also didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The “bogus” allegations by the SSS are “not supported by any iota of evidence whatsoever” and Emefiele should be released while the agency completes its probe, according to his filings. The application also accused the SSS, which was already investigating Emefiele last year over allegations including money laundering, terror financing and misappropriation of funds, of disobeying two court orders issued in December barring the agency from detaining the central bank chief.
The SSS said that during its investigation of Emefiele, it uncovered “collaborators” who “are at large and ought to be traced and arrested,” the agency said.
A court will rule on Emefiele’s bail application on July 13.
Credit: Yahoo News