By Emmanuel Nduka
Nigeria’s Department of State Security (DSS) has freed Dr. Kingsley Obiora, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in charge of Economic Policy.
The development was confirmed on Saturday by a source close to Obiora, who also admitted that Obiora spent some days with the DSS.
While his arrest by the DSS is seen as part of a wider crackdown on senior officials of the CBN, which began with the suspension of former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, the source who is an official of the CBN, said he had no knowledge of what transpired between Obiora and the DSS while in detention.
The source, however, said the Deputy Governor’s release from detention was welcomed by the staff of the apex bank, many of whom were already worried that they were being specifically targeted.
The CBN official said the Jim Obaze led Special Investigations Panel had “requested for several documents from many departments as part of its investigation to unravel what transpired in the CBN under Emefiele”.
He also disclosed that the Special Investigation Panel had written to and requested for documents from Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc) and the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank (NMFB).
Officials of NIRSAL Plc and NMFB are said to be scrambling to provide all the documents required of them. NMFB has in recent times ramped up its drive to recover the COVID 19 Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) disbursed to indigent households.
In response to the arrest and prosecution of Emefiele on allegations of financial misconduct in late July, President Bola Tinubu appointed a special panel led by Jim Obazee to investigate the CBN.
As part of this ongoing audit, the panel has been questioning the deputy governors of the CBN and other senior officials of the bank.
The CBN source said that “Obiora like the other Deputy Governors, has faced intense questioning from the panel prior to his detention”.
