Godwin Emefiele: Travail of a loyal warden

BY EMEKA EJERE

Suspended governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, is certainly not ending his captaincy of the apex bank on a joyful note. His subsequent arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS), makes it even more so.

The secret police, according to sources, is likely to approach the court on Tuesday to obtain an order to keep him in its custody for as long as his interrogation will last. The DSS is said to have assembled a team of crack interrogators to quiz the embattled CBN boss on wide ranging issues, including alleged terrorism financing and mismanagement of the economy and the apex bank.

Emefiele was suspended from office on Friday night by President Bola Tinubu. According to a statement by Willie Bassey, Director of Information at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, his suspension was due to an ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the nation’s financial sector.

However, some pundits are of the view that the Delta-born banker may be paying for his unalloyed loyalty to former President Mohammadu Buhari, some of whose political beliefs were at variance with those of the current President in the build up to the 2023 Presidential election.

Mr. Emefiele assumed office in 2014, succeeding Lamido Sanusi, who was equally suspended from office under controversial circumstances by President Goodluck Jonathan few months before the expiration of his tenure.

He was re-appointed for a second term of five years in 2019 by Buhari. Before his appointment, Mr Emefiele was the Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc.

Since his assumption of office, critics have constantly raised concerns about his management of the economy, his politics, and the apex bank’s controversial policies.

Under his watch the naira has experienced a significant decline, currently trading at over N750 per dollar in the parallel market and N469.50 per dollar at the spot market as of Thursday, the lowest it has ever traded on the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.

Like in many other countries since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, the apex bank has had difficulties containing the nation’s inflation rate, which stood at 22.2 per cent in May, according to the nation’s statistics bureau.

His ‘sins’

The DSS had secretly requested a court order in December to arrest Mr. Emefiele on allegations of “financing terrorism, fraudulent activities, and economic crimes of national security dimension.”

The request was, however, rejected by the Federal High Court in Abuja because the secret security unit failed to present sufficient evidence to justify issuing an arrest warrant against the then embattled CBN chief.

Mr Emefiele also has a record of controversial foray into partisan politics, contesting for the presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). Although the governor tried to deny his involvement in partisan politics, the alleged move attracted widespread condemnation, with experts expressing worries about his impartiality and the autonomy of the CBN.

In the last quarter of 2022, the CBN also introduced a naira redesign policy that was widely criticised for the uncertainty and widespread chaos it triggered across the country, with frustrated Nigerians staging protests amid poor banking operations.

In a bid to dissociate himself from the decisions of the government of the day, Tinubu, then candidate of the APC, claimed that the policies implemented by the CBN, such as the restriction on cash withdrawals to N20,000 per day and N100,000 per week, were deliberately designed to hinder his chances of winning the presidential election.

Also, the National Bureau of Statistics last month revealed that Nigeria’s economy slowed in the first quarter of the year on cash scarcity induced by the CBN naira redesign policy.

Against the law

Meanwhile, legal luminary, Olisa Agbakoba, has described Emefiele’s arrest as a shock. Agbakoba, in a statement by his Media Relations Officer, Niyi Odunmorayo, said: “The suspension of the CBN governor from office is not a surprise as his tenure was way beyond monetary policy. But confirmation by the DSS that Emefiele is in its custody comes as a shock.

“The statutory role of DSS is internal security and I shudder to think what role DSS will play in this matter. The rule of law says it all – can the relevant agency responsible for Governor Emefiele step forward but this excludes the DSS unless this has security implications”.

Also, lawyers, under the aegis of United Lawyers for Rule of Law Defence, expressed outrage over the alleged midnight invasion of the Lagos residence of the CBN suspended Governor, and his forceful arrest by men of the DSS, describing the development as undemocratic.

In a press statement on Saturday by their leader, Hon. Obe Albert, the lawyers argued that arresting Emefiele despite a subsisting court order barring his arrest was against the norms of the rule of law.

They subsequently called for his release out of respect for the court and the rule of law.

Similarly, the Niger Delta Rights Advocates (NDRA) has alleged infractions on the rights of the suspended CBN governor following the manner he was arrested by men of the DSS.

The National Coordinator of NDRA, Bright Ngolo, said: “The group is constrained to draw public attention to an obvious infraction on the rights of Emefiele, who until Friday was the CBN Governor.

“The reports we have is that operatives of the DSS stormed the Lagos residence of Emefiele in the dead of the night, blindfolded him and forcefully took him away in a manner suggestive of abduction.

“As Rights Advocates, we should not live in a nation where all manner of gestapo style arrests will be made in the name of getting people to question them or account for perceived misdeeds. Mr Emefiele could be invited for questioning at any time since no Nigerian is above the law.

“However, we are also concerned that there is a judgement by a competent court in suit no GAR/CV/41/2022 instituted by the Incorporated Trustees of the Forum for Accountability and Good Leadership, wherein Justice M.A. Hassan barred the DSS, Attorney General of the Federation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria, who are listed as 1st, 2bd and 5th defendants from arresting Emefiele.

“Our call for the authorities to respect the rule of law by challenging and setting aside Justice Hassan’s judgment has nothing to do with the propriety or otherwise of his removal from office as CBN governor. NDRA wants the due process of the law to be followed in pursuing the Emefiele case rather than painting the picture of repression of the rule of law.

“We call on all agencies of government therefore to respect the rule of law as a confirmation that democracy has taken root in our country and no institution or agency of government can just wake up and overreach its bounds”

In the same vein, a senior lawyer, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, has faulted the sack of Emefiele, saying his removal from office and arrest by the DSS was unlawful.

He said: “1. The appointment of the CBN Governor is a statutory one. He can only be removed by the Senate resolution. Remember the Sanusi vs FGN case at the FHC. 2. The motion ex parte by the DSS to arrest and detain Emefiele was rejected by the FHC. 3. The reverberation in the international financial will be expected. 4. BAT (Bola Ahmed Tinubu) ignored the Board of the CBN in the suspension and did not justify his actions by referring to the CBN Act. 5. The person who is the acting Gov ought to have retired having crossed the age of 60.

He, however, argued that Emefiele did not behave wisely in remaining in office after PMB left office, recalling that The great Zik said” it’s only a tree that stays put even as it’s being cut down”.

A vindictive act

A former aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, in his reaction stated that the suspension of Emiefiele is not in good taste, as it appears to be a vindictive act to punish him for the Naira redesign policy, which was meant to reduce the impact of money in the Nigerian 2023 elections.

“The suspension of Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, by President Bola Tinubu is not in good taste. It appears to be a vindictive act, to punish Mr Emefiele for the patriotic Naira redesign policy, which was meant, among other things, to reduce the impact of money on the Nigerian elections 2023’’, Omokri wrote on his official Instagram page.

‘’President Tinubu started well. Indeed, I have had cause to praise him. But he should not mar the progress he has made by this act of seeming vengeance. The country needs unity and stability after a fractious election. Now is the time for appeasement, not punishment. It is hoped that the President will reconsider his actions for the nation’s greater good”.

Thinking twice

Also in a post on his official Facebook handle on Sunday, Omokri recalled that the embattled CBN governor is the only Nigerian who has held the position in the apex bank for two tenures in the last 30 years, urging Nigerians to think twice. He said Emefiele should be given the privilege of defending himself by charging him to court.

He wrote, “In the last thirty years, Emefiele has been the only CBN Governor reappointed for a second tenure. And what makes his case even more unique is that he was appointed by one President from one party and reappointed by another from a different party.

“So think twice before you condemn Emefiele. He held an office that was literally the most sought-after non-elective position in Nigeria. There are lots of accusations against him and no evidence as of yet.

“A media trial by a mob will not get to the bottom of this issue. If the Tinubu administration feels he has a case to answer, let him be charged to court and given the judicial and media space to defend himself”.