EFCC Quizzes Ex-CBN Boss, Emefiele As Details Of Allegations Emerge

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has begun questioning the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, with an alleged $15 billion foreign debt topping the investigation.

Naija News understands that a panel of EFCC operatives had started grilling Emefiele on the allegations against him, including the following:

•Alleged foreign debts of $15 billion.

•Spending of N74. 84 billion on Naira redesign, production, and rollout of currencies.

•Alleged fraud in Anchor Borrowers Scheme.

•Suspicious audit of CBN accounts.

•Acquisition of bank and Fintech licenses by some top officials of CBN.

•Award of suspicious billions of Naira contracts.

Recall that operatives of the anti-graft agency had picked Emefiele up on Thursday night, less than an hour after he was released by the Department of State Services (DSS).

According to sources on Friday, the DSS does not have the core competence to investigate the weighty allegations of financial crimes against Emefiele.

There were fears that if the DSS continued the investigation, the ex-CBN governor might win in court on technical grounds.

Following alleged fraud uncovered by the Special Investigator, Jim Obazee, who is looking into the activities of the CBN, Emefiele will be asked to give an account of how the apex bank spent N74.84 billion to produce and roll out currencies, including new naira notes.

Having appraised the allegations against Emefiele and the interim report on the ongoing probe of the CBN, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), sent an advisory to President Bola Tinubu that the EFCC is the right agency to probe Emefiele, it was learned.

“As a man of due process, the President approved the advisory of the AGF. It was on this basis that the DSS handed over Emefiele to the EFCC on Thursday,” a source told The Nation.

“The truth is that such an investigation is not within the mandate of the DSS. Or else, if Emefiele is put on trial by the DSS, he will win on technical grounds,” the highly placed source added.

Another source in EFCC added: “Emefiele is in our custody, and he is already responding to issues or allegations raised for him from a team under the supervision of the Director of Operation, Abdulkarim Chukkol.

“As a commission, we won’t talk on his case in order not to compromise ongoing investigation.”