President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday met with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Emefiele, who was holding a white file got to the Presidential Villa at about 2:30 pm and had a closed door meeting for about 25 minutes with the President.
The President held the separate meeting with Emefiele after a first meeting with him, as part of an audience granted the Arab Bank for Economic Development team at the Villa.
The CBN Governor who was dressed in a navy blue suit with a white shirt and his usual green tie was meeting the President for the first time since the controversy over his planned arrest by the Department of State Services for alleged terrorism financing broke.
The CBN Governor declined comments on the recent issues involving him and the nation’s secret police which has been on his trail on allegations of terrorism financing
An Abuja Federal High Court presided over by Justice J.T Tsoho had declined a request by the Department of State Services to arrest Emefiele in December.
The secret police according to a court document was moving to arrest Emefiele over allegations bothering on “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.”
The DSS had filed a suit suit, with reference number FHC/Abj/CS/2255/2022, on December 7, 2022, in which it requested an order to arrest the CBN governor.
But Justice Tsoho declined to grant the application for the Emefiele’s arrest on December 9, 2022.
The judge held that the DSS should have taken the court into confidence on Emefiele’s alleged activities as its standing alone on the matter is not enough to deprive him of his liberty.
The court further held that the respondent was simply identified as Godwin Emefiele without his position.
It noted further that the withholding of the position of the respondent leaves the court with the speculation whether Emefiele is the Governor of Central Bank, who occupies a sensitive position as a key driver of the nation’s economy.
The judge ruled that “Therefore, an application of this kind should have evidence of the approval of the respondent’s boss that such measures are authorized to be taken. I however do not find such measures in this instant application whereas it is a necessary procedure in the observance of the rule of law.”
He ruled that if the DSS which is the applicant believes that it has sufficient evidence on the allegation against Emefiele, it could as well go ahead to arrest the CBN Governor without the requested court order.
Emefiele resumed duty after his annual leave in December on January 26, 2023 after weeks of speculations about his whereabouts in the media.
He thanked Nigerians for keeping with with the bank and urged them to sustain the support for the policies of the Bank aimed at ensuring a stable financial system.
Emefiele reassured Nigerians of his committed to perform the task before him in line with his oath of office and the policy direction of President Muhammadu Buhari.