In a recent development, Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has implicated Abdulrasheed Bawa, the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in the Naira redesign scam that shook the nation a few months ago. Emefiele, who is currently in detention by the Department of State Services (DSS), played a role in inviting and detaining Bawa.
On Wednesday night, Bawa was summoned to the DSS headquarters and subsequently questioned by the secret police. This action followed his indefinite suspension by President Bola Tinubu. Both Emefiele and Bawa are undergoing interrogation, with the focus on various issues related to the Naira redesign scam.
The Naira redesign was announced on November 23, 2022, by then-President Muhammadu Buhari and Emefiele. The new Naira notes in denominations of N200, N500, and N1,000 were unveiled, and Emefiele emphasized that the old notes would cease to be legal tender from January 31, 2023. However, the policy caused significant hardship for Nigerians due to the scarcity of the new notes, leading to cash shortages and long queues at banks and ATMs.
According to a source, Emefiele alleged that Bawa had raised a memo to President Buhari, suggesting the Naira redesign to combat money laundering during the 2023 election. However, Bawa countered by claiming that Emefiele and the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Malami, approached him to raise the memo due to suspicions that Bola Tinubu, then-presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, had warehouses filled with Naira notes.
In response to the allegations against Bawa, President Tinubu suspended him from office indefinitely to allow for a thorough investigation into his conduct. The statement announcing the suspension highlighted “weighty allegations” of abuse of office.
The ongoing investigation and planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy led to Emefiele’s suspension. He has been directed to hand over his responsibilities to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate) while the investigation and reforms take place.
Earlier this year, the DSS attempted to arrest Emefiele, but he was protected by soldiers provided by the Chief of Defence Staff. The DSS has intensified its investigations into allegations of terrorism financing and fraud, revealing that Emefiele allegedly funded certain groups with resources raised for his unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2022 and misappropriated public funds.
