By Nkechi Ogbonna
Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS), has said that it had filed charges in court against the country’s suspended Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, following an earlier High Court order to charge him or release him within seven days.
He was suspended in early June, shortly after President Bola Tinubu was sworn in. The bank governor was then arrested the following day.
The DSS did not give details of the charges against Mr Emefiele but said in a statement that he had been detained on the strength of “suspected fresh criminal infractions/information, one of which forms the basis for his current prosecution”.
The Reuters news agency says it has seen papers filed by government lawyers which suggest misappropriation of funds is one of the charges he is facing.
Mr Emefiele will remain in custody until he appears in court, but no date has been set.
On 20 June, he had asked the High Court to order his release saying there was no basis for his continuous detention.
Following the governor’s suspension, the president ended the policy of multiple foreign exchange rates and currency restrictions introduced by Mr Emefiele – moves that were welcomed by investors.
