AGBOR Stakeholders Forum (ASF) has alleged fresh plot by the Federal Government to hunt down and destroy their son and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
They noted that their kinsman, who was suspended and currently facing prosecution over sundry charges, has since the beginning of President Bola Tinubu administration been subjected to investigation of the Department of State Service (DSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and a Special Financial Investigator, Mr. Jim Obazee, without any proof yet of any misdeed while in office.
The Forum, in a statement by one Kanene Kachikwu, stated that Agbor indigenes have had cause to cry out last year after Emefiele was detained for over six months without bail, adding: “Though he was finally granted bail, we are moved to cry out once more in view of the relentless propaganda and media assault the federal government has unleashed on Emefiele in the last couple of weeks.”
The group said it considered the prosecution of Emefiele, a successful and thoroughbred banker, as a political vendetta, witch-hunt and an attempt to destroy him, urging Tinubu to let Emefiele be.
“As we chronicled in our first appeal, our brother has been charged with over half a dozen offences and all of them have failed in different courts.
“The DSS first accused him of financing terrorism. After a thorough search of all his residences, all they got was a little gun, more like a toy gun.
“Then the EFCC took over and combed through all his financial records. They went to press that N7.1trillion was missing. This was to later turn to N1.2billion official vehicles procurement irregularity allegedly perpetrated by Emefiele and a female colleague. This too didn’t stand in the court of law.”
“Most recently, the EFCC claimed it was probing forex transactions of the CBN spanning the last nine years (2014 – 2023). Here’s a sample of the calumny and propaganda against Emefiele that has been put out in the public for a probe that has not been carried out.
“But it should be noted that our investigation is comprehensive, deeper and more encompassing and absolutely independent of the CBN investigator, Obazee’s report.
“The charges against the former CBN governor will most likely be amended, as there have been more discoveries from the forex probe.
“Thus, as typical of the lies and deceit in the various so-called probes of Emefiele, questions to be asked are: Does the EFCC have capacity and and personnel to probe nine years of daily forex transactions? “Why is the EFCC probe different from the Obazee probe.
“Finally, Obazee told the world in a leaked report that Emefiele had interests in three bank, necessitating the takeover of the banks. But when the bank’s management was changed a few days ago, different reasons were adduced.
“According to the CBN, the infractions of the three banks (Union, Keystone and Polaris banks) range from ‘regulatory non-compliance, corporate governance failure, disregarding the conditions under which their licences were granted and involvement in activities that pose a threat to financial stability, among others.
“In all of this, the CBN didn’t give specific details of what makes up infringement and noncompliance.”
The Forum added: “Our point and also our grouse is that these probes, investigations and reports therefrom are all politically-motivated attempts to ‘destroy’ our brother for his alleged role in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s naira redesign policy.
“We make bold to say that all these investigations have shown Emefiele as a very decent man who can still stand after investigations by the DSS, EFCC and a special investigator. Yet, no serious offence has been brought against him.
“In closing, we make bold to say that hardly anyone in government can survive this kind of scrutiny without being in jail already.”
