The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele on Monday, resumed duty after his annual vacation abroad.
CBN Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi made this known in a statement.
“The apex bank governor resumed with renewed vigour to perform his duty ahead of the first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the year scheduled for January 23 to 24, 2023,” the statement read.
“Mr. Emefiele remains committed to performing the task before him in line with his oath of office and the policy direction of President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Similarly, the Department of State Services (DSS) on Monday said its operatives did not “invade” the CBN office and did not arrest the apex bank chief.
“The attention of the Department of State Services (DSS) has been drawn to the false news making the round that its operatives invaded the Central Bank of Nigeria and arrested its Governor, today 16/1/23. This is fake news and quite misleading,” DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya said in a statement.
The secret police had approached an Abuja court to arrest Emefiele over alleged terrorism financing and economic crimes of national security but Justice Maryam Hassan of the Federal Capital Territory High Court Abuja quashed the move by the DSS.
The judge thereafter barred the DSS from arresting, inviting, or detaining Emefiele declaring the terrorism allegations against the CBN governor by the DSS as vindictive, callous, oppressive, void, and of no effect.
Some Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) had urged the secret police to obey the court order stop the secret police from arresting the national bank chief. However, a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics said the DSS does not need a court order to arrest the CBN governor if the Service has concrete evidence against him.
He urged the apex bank governor is not one of those constitutionally entitled to immunity in Nigeria.
Falana also described as embarrassing the allegations against Emefiele by the DSS, saying this can only happen in a Banana Republic where the governor of the apex bank would be accused of a grave offence of terrorism financing.
“Has the government considered the enormous implication of the effect of a wanted governor of the central bank on the economy?
“I am completely flabbergasted that the President of the country has not intervened; either to call the state security to order or to call Mr Emefiele to return to the country or be fired,” the senior lawyer said.
Falana stressed that the allegation of terrorism financing against Emefiele should not be dismissed.