Godwin Emefiele: CBN’s longest serving governor arrested after suspension. Here’s all we know about his travails
On Friday, June 9, 2023, President Bola Tinubu suspended the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, just 11 days after he was sworn in as Nigeria’s 16th president on May 29, 2023.
‘President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, CFR, from office with immediate effect,’ a statement signed by Willie Bassey, Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, reads in part.
Immediately after his suspension, Godwin Emefiele was reportedly arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) over allegations pertaining to terrorism financing and economic crimes.
In June 2014, when Goodluck Jonathan suspended former CBN governor Lamido Sanusi, Emefiele was appointed Governor of the apex bank and has remained in the seat, making him the longest-serving governor in the country’s history. Controversies have since trailed his nine-year tenure as the country’s apex bank governor.
In December 2022, a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Garki, Abuja, barred the DSS from arresting and detaining Godwin Emefiele.
The High Court ruled that Emefiele was wrongly accused by the DSS.
“That the 4th Respondent acted wrongfully and illegally in instigating the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria against Godwin Emefiele in respect of the exercise of his statutory duty relating to the issuance of monetary policies and directives in the interest of national security and the economy.”
Though details of his arrest are still sketchy at the time of this report, many believe that his arrest might be connected with the pending allegation of financing terrorist groups in Nigeria. If found guilty, Emefiele faces life imprisonment.
Section 15 (1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act of 2004 states that: “A person who willfully provides or collects, by any means, directly or indirectly, any money from any other person with the intent that the money shall be used for any act of terrorism commits an offense under this Act and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.”
Emefiele’s nine years as CBN governor were marred by controversies. In 2022, ahead of the presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Godwin Emefiele, against the dictates of the Central Bank Act, was alleged to have ventured into partisan politics, with the ambition of succeeding Muhammadu Buhari. Ahead of the February 25, 2023, presidential election, Godwin Emefiele introduced the naira redesign policy, a move Tinubu alleged was meant to prevent him from winning the election.
While the CBN later revised the policy weeks before the election and after the Supreme Court ruled that both the new naira and the old naira should be used as legal tender, Tinubu, in his inaugural speech, criticized the currency swap and promised to review the process.
“Whatever merits it had in concept, the currency swap was too harshly applied by the CBN given the number of unbanked Nigerians. The policy shall be reviewed. In the meantime, my administration will treat both currencies as legal tender.”
With his suspension and arrest, Emefiele is expected to hand over the affairs of the CBN to Deputy Governor Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi.
