Emefiele arrested while trying to flee Nigeria through Lagos, APC member says

The suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, was arrested in Lagos while trying to flee Nigeria through the land border.

This is according to a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, Dada Olusegun.

Olusegun, who has been tipped for the position of Special Adviser on Digital Media to President Bola Tinubu, alleged this in a post on his Twitter page on Saturday, June 10, 2023.

It'd be recalled that Tinubu suspended Emefiele from office with immediate effect on Friday night. The decision was conveyed in a statement issued by the Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey.

Following his suspension, the Department of State Services (DSS) announced on Saturday that it has arrested Emefiele, while footage later surfaced online showing the banker - uncharacteristically dressed in a native outfit, being led into an aircraft in Lagos.

Apparently, Emefiele was caught in Lagos from where he had planned to escape to another country through the land border.

"Meffy apparently tried to leave Nigeria by land border. He was nabbed in Lagos," the APC member wrote.

Tinubu replaces Emefiele

Meanwhile, Tinubu has directed the CBN Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, to take over the leadership of the CBN in an acting capacity pending the conclusion of the investigation and reformation of the financial sector.

Emefiele's suspension came as no surprise as he had been tipped as a potential casualty of the Tinubu presidency following his controversial naira swap and cashless policy that created negative publicity for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) before the February 25 presidential election.