TheCable

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will return to Nigeria next week after the expiration of his leave, TheCable understands.

Emefiele went on leave before Christmas with the knowledge of President Muhammadu Buhari, presidency insiders informed TheCable.

He spent the first part of his leave in the US but TheCable confirmed on Thursday that he is currently in the UK.

The leave ends on January 17 and he will be at his desk thereafter, TheCable was informed.

When he went on leave, it emerged that the Department of State Services (DSS) had approached a federal high court in Abuja seeking a warrant to arrest him over allegations that he was involved in terrorism financing and economic crimes.

In declining the motion ex parte — usually filed by an applicant in the absence of the respondent — Justice JT Tsoho, the chief judge, said the secret police did not provide any concrete evidence to substantiate its claims.

There were suggestions that the bid to arrest Emefiele might be political given the impact the redesign of the naira and limit on cash withdrawals might have on vote-buying in the 2023 elections.

A group of civil society organisations raised the alarm that there was a plot to frame Emefiele for terrorism and remove him from office.

However, the DSS swiftly warned against being used to “undermine” its investigations, although it did not specifically name Emefiele. 

Peter Afunanya, DSS spokesperson, said the service would not be distracted by those seeking to use “propaganda” to undermine its lawful investigations.

A federal capital territory (FCT) high court sitting in Maitama later issued an order restraining the  DSS from arresting the CBN governor.

The restraining order was issued by M.A. Hassan, the presiding judge.