Suspended Central Bank Governor Arrested in Nigeria


Godwin Emefiele, who was suspended from his post as governor of Nigeria's Central Bank on Friday, has been detained by the country's security services. He served in the post for nearly a decade and was a contender for the presidency in the last election.

Emefiele was suspended by President Bola Tinubu, who came to power in late May after a contested February vote. Tinubu, who was elected on the promise of reforming the country, said Emefiele's suspension was part of an "ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the banking sector."

The Department of State Services (DSS) announced that Emefiele was detained on Saturday for "some investigative reasons." The DSS had previously attempted to arrest Emefiele in December under suspicion of terrorism funding and other economic crimes, but a court blocked it from doing so for lack of proof. It is unclear whether Emefiele's arrest was the result of new findings.

Emefiele had been criticized for a number of decisions made while running the Central Bank of Africa's largest economy, most recently for the replacement of old currency with new notes in an attempt to crack down on corruption and cash ransom payments to kidnappers. The move led to a shortage of cash in the continent's most-populous country.

The bank's decision to print and lend money to the Nigerian central government was also a point of contention as it added heavily to the country's high inflation, which stood at 22% in April.

Emefiele was immediately replaced by Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, a deputy governor.

A powerful figure in his post at the top of the Central Bank, Emefiele also challenged Tinubu in party primaries to be the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the office of the presidency.

Tinubu's tenure as president got off to a rocky start when he immediately slashed long-established fuel subsidies on the day he was inaugurated. Fuel prices rose sharply on the news. He also took over a series of serious economic challenges including record debt, shortages of foreign exchange currencies, a weak naira, high inflation and patchy electricity supply.

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