There are indications that the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, will not be prosecuted following his arrest by the Department of State Service (DSS).
The speculations follow the controversies trailing his arrest, detention, and whereabouts after his suspension on Friday evening.
President Bola Tinubu suspended Emefiele over an ongoing investigation of his office. He was subsequently arrested by the DSS.
The DSS in a tweet on Saturday denied detaining him, which has raised eyebrows about his whereabouts.
However, security and government sources in an interview with The Whistler said the CBN governor was arrested at 2:00am on Saturday from his residence contrary to earlier reports that he was arrested on Friday.
Multiple sources with details of the arrest said Emefiele is still in the custody of the DSS, and the denial by the agency is a part of the exit plan for him to escape without facing prosecution because he would be removed as CBN governor after his investigation.
The source said, “They cannot prosecute him because if he starts to mention names, Nigeria will catch fire. So, he had to be suspended so they can now come to the media to say, he is being investigated.
“He will soon be left to go and asked to leave the country for now. So, the DSS has to deny he is in their custody to avoid questions from Nigerians on the fate of the CBN governor after his arrest.
“But, the idea is to let him go, and at the moment he is in their custody, located near the Villa. This move is just a way to remove him and this was the best opportunity.”
The publication said the suspended CBN governor knew he would be removed during his recent closed-door meeting with the president at the Villa, stressing that security chiefs would be removed from office soon.
Another source said, “The meeting they had was to resolve their exit plan and nothing more. Many more heads of security departments will be removed from office soon, in the guise of being investigated.
“So, the DSS has to deny he is in their custody because of the plan”