The Department of State Services (DSS) has confiscated the passport of the suspended Nigeria Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele. Competent sources disclosed this to People’s Security Monitor few hours ago. But a source within the DSS said the confiscation of Emefiele’s passport was not unusual, because it was standard procedure for his travel documents to be seized pending the conclusion of his investigation.
The source said, “Of course, Emefiele’s travel document would be confiscated as part of the standard process pending the conclusion of our investigation, that’s not unusual, it’s normal by global standard practice. Also, as part of the investigation, his house and office would be searched for documents that can aid the ongoing investigation on his management of the CBN.”
However, further investigation by People’s Security Monitor has indicated that top directors of the CBN might also be invited for interrogation over their roles in the administration of the apex bank alongside with Emefiele, their former principal.
Emefiele was arrested in Lagos on Friday and flew to Abuja in a private jet on Saturday following his suspension as a result of the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector.
The spokesperson for the service, Peter Afunanya, had already confirmed in a statement that Emefiele had been taken into the custody of DSS and was under investigation.
Though not yet ascertained, but indications are rife that the DSS might revisit the criminal charges it earlier slammed against Emefiele which borders on terrorism financing and fraud.
Among others, the secret police had accused the suspended CBN box of mismanaging the CBN subsidiary, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending and the Anchor Borrowers Programme.