Moments after Emefiele’s suspension was made public on Friday evening, reports of his arrest were widely circulated online.
The Department of State Services (DSS) is holding suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele, the secret police has confirmed.
This is in accordance with a statement made on Saturday by the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Peter Afunanya.
“The Department of State Services (DSS) hereby confirms that Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is now in its custody for some investigative reasons,” the statement read.
The general public, in particular the media, is urged to exercise extreme caution in their reporting and narratives about this.
After the DSS denied rumors that Emefiele was in its custody, the revelation was made a few hours later.
In a brief statement on Saturday morning, Afunanya stated, “Right now, Emefiele is not with the DSS,” in response to widely circulated online reports of the arrest.
CBN Governor-in-Act Named
Emefiele’s suspension was announced by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation’s Director of Information, Willie Bassey, in a statement on Friday.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has with immediate effect removed Mr. Godwin Emefiele, CFR, from his position as governor of the central bank. This is a follow-up to the ongoing investigation into his office and the proposed financial sector reforms, according to the statement.
“Mr. Emefiele has been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate) [Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi], who will act as the Central Bank Governor pending the conclusion of the investigation and the reforms.”
