Fresh information detailing the reason why the embattled Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele has been linked to terrorism financing by the secret police, Department of State Services (DSS) has emerged.

On Wednesday, SaharaReporters exclusively obtained information about how the DSS investigation revealed that Emefiele fraternised with a well-known terror financier, whose name was not disclosed.

The DSS or State Security Service (SSS) had accused Emefiele of allegedly aiding and abetting acts of terrorism.

The security agency said the CBN governor is involved in the financing of terrorism and must answer for the alleged crime.

It said preliminary investigation revealed various acts of terrorism financing, fraudulent activities perpetrated by Emefiele and his involvement in economic crimes of national security dimension.

However, in the meantime, Emefiele has employed all manner of tricks and tactics to avoid arrest and interrogation, including recently delaying his return to Nigeria following a trip abroad and engaging some associates of President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the fight against the DSS.

Emefiele has also employed the use of propaganda to undermine lawful investigations and engaged monarchs -Obas and Emirs- to lobby and beg President Muhammadu Buhari and the Director-General of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi on his behalf.

So far, all efforts by the DSS to question Emefiele over his alleged links to terrorism and fraud have hit a brick wall, thanks to the work of the President’s associates led by Mamman Daura, a nephew and close confidant of Buhari and Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna State.

However, top government sources shared with SaharaReporters on Wednesday how the investigation linked Emefiele to a well-known terror financier, whom the apex bank governor had sent funds for onward transfer to controversial Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.

Gumi is known for hobnobbing with terrorists and bandits and advocating that amnesty should be granted to them.

One of Gumi’s associates, Tukur Mamu, was arrested and detained by the Interpol at Cairo International Airport in Egypt while awaiting a connecting flight to Saudi Arabia. Upon his return to Nigeria, he was arrested by the DSS over allegations that he was heading to Saudi Arabia to meet with some international terrorists.

“How they linked Emefiele with terrorist financing was that he asked a well-known terror financier to help him to send money to Sheikh Gumi. Apparently, Emefiele wanted Gumi to support his presidential bid but Gumi reportedly rejected the money, saying he didn’t have a bank account,” one of the sources said.

“The money was given to a Gumi’s aide by the terror financier who incidentally, had been on the DSS watchlist.

“When the terror financier was arrested, he refused to disclose the source of the huge amount of money who had asked him to pass it on to Gumi.”

But that is not the full story as Emefiele was also believed to have committed murder to keep the detained terror financier quiet about their dealings as well as his alleged involvement in economic sabotage.

The DSS learnt that the terror financier was being given huge amounts of dollars by Emefiele to sell, thereby killing the Nigerian economy when, as the apex bank governor, he should be saving it.

“The wife and child of the man (terrorist financier) were murdered while he was in DSS detention. He had heard that the man had confessed that he (Emefiele) gave him dollars to sell and then asked him to bribe Gumi for his election.

“They are accusing him of killing his (the terror financier’s) family to scare him from revealing their deal to the DSS while in detention,” another source said.

Background

SaharaReporters had reported how Emefiele nursed presidential ambition and attempted to vie for the office on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

After facing opposition from some quarters including within the CBN, Emefiele approached the Delta State High Court sitting in Kwale, Ndokwa West Local Government Area, Delta State, to get an order restraining the apex bank and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from stopping him from contesting the 2023 presidential election.

He eventually backed down after it was clear that he would have to resign from office to contest the presidential primary election of the ruling party.

A Federal High Court in Maitama, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja also recently issued an order restraining secret police from arresting Emefiele.

This ruling, delivered by Justice M.A. Hassan also applies to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the CBN, who are listed as defendants.

Earlier, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja declined an application filed by the DSS to arrest and detain Emefiele over the grave allegations against him.

In declining the motion ex parte filed by the secret police, Justice J. T. Tsoho, the Chief Judge, said the DSS did not provide any concrete evidence to substantiate its claims that Emefiele was involved in terrorism financing and economic crimes.

Upon Emefiele’s return to Nigeria on Monday after spending several weeks away, Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Lucky Irabor, deployed military personnel and intelligence officers to ensure that he was not arrested by the DSS.

SaharaReporters on Monday reported that the CBN governor headed to his office with massive security, specifically military protection, following his return to the country.

“Apparently the Chief of Defence Staff was the one that aided Emefiele to defy the DSS upon arrival. Irabor deployed the military police and intelligence to ensure Emefiele was not arrested,” one of the sources revealed on Tuesday morning.

Sources at the CBN had told SaharaReporters that the security personnel that accompanied Emefiele to the bank were larger than that of President Buhari.

“Emefiele has returned to Nigeria. He went to the CBN with massive security. He was given military protection. His security is bigger than that of the President," one of the sources had said in a terse message to SaharaReporters.