Cleric, Tunde Bakare, has asked the Federal government not to use the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, as a scapegoat.
Emefiele has been in the custody of the DSS following his arrest on June 10 hours after he was suspended by President Tinubu.
Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Federal Government on two counts of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
After the court granted Emefiele bail, the Federal Government on August 3 filed an application seeking leave to appeal against the order granting bail to the suspended CBN governor.
Emefiele responded with an appeal seeking to stop the Federal Government from further remanding or prosecuting him on the charge of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition or on any other charge for that matter.
According to Bakare, using the provisions of the CBN Act 2007, there is every possibility that the former CBN governor did not act without presidential authorisation.
Bakare stated this during a State of the Nation broadcast on Sunday, August 13.
Bakare maintained that Emefiele should be prosecuted if found guilty of any crime. He alleged that events before the 2023 presidential election pointed to the direction of political vendetta against the suspended CBN governor by President Bola Tinubu.
“Mr Godwin Emefiele may have made the wrong judgement calls in the management of Nigeria’s monetary policy, but he must not be made a scapegoat.
“In the provisions of the central bank of Nigeria, CBN Act 2007, there is every possibility that the erstwhile central bank governor did not act without presidential authorisation.
“If Emefiele is found liable for any crime, by all means, he should be prosecuted. However, considering the dynamics of the pre-election environment and the then-candidate Bola Tinubu’s public allegation that the naira redesign policy was targeted at him, the optics of the president targeting Emefiele for prosecution after winning the election and being sworn in as the president could be interpreted as a form of vendetta far beneath such a distinguished office,” Bakare said.
Bakare also berated the Department of State Services (DSS) for their role in Emefiele’s arrest and detention.
“Considering the claims of the DSS that its actions were in reaction to order from above, handling of Emefiele case has sent a signal to the world that the current president’s disposition to the war against corruption is primarily motivated by the clampdown on the perceived political adversaries, while various other enemies of Nigeria remain untouched,” he said.
The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has adjourned the case till Tuesday, August 15, for further hearing.
