Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, is now being held in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The media revealed that Emefiele, who is presently being probed at the EFCC’s National Headquarters in Jabi, Abuja, was picked up by EFCC agents Thursday night, less than an hour after he was released from the Department of State Services’ dungeon.
An unnamed source told reporters on Friday morning that the EFCC is investigating Emefiele for possible misconduct while he was the governor of the national bank.
“Yes, Emefiele is currently in the custody of the EFCC; he was arrested last night, less than an hour after the DSS released him.” He’s presently being interrogated at the headquarters as part of an investigation into alleged theft of funds, among other things, during his tenure as CBN governor, according to the source.
The EFCC may also file new charges against Emefiele, according to reports.
Meanwhile, when approached on Friday, the EFCC’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, could not be reached for official confirmation.
According to reports, Emefiele has been detained by the Department of State Services since June, when President Bola Tinubu suspended him from office.
He was then requested to pass up his responsibilities to Folashodun Shonubi, the apex bank’s then-Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate.
The DSS confirmed the next day that Emefiele was being held for “investigative purposes.”
On July 25, he was arraigned in a federal high court in Lagos on a two-count allegation of “illegal possession” of firearms and was given bail in the sum of N20 million.
The two-count complaint was later dismissed on August 17 after the Federal Government retracted it.
However, a new 20-count complaint was filed against him for an alleged conspiracy to commit procurement fraud, among other things.
The arraignment has been postponed twice, and Emefiele is said to have sought a plea deal with the federal government.
Emefiele was obliged to quit as CBN governor and ‘disgorge’ some assets under the proposed accord.
However, on September 22, the CBN officially acknowledged Emefiele’s resignation after Olayemi Cardoso was chosen as the apex bank’s substantive governor.