Kingsley Obiora, deputy governor of the Economic Policy Directorate of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has been detained by officials of the Department of State Services.
His detention has thrown the CBN into a state of anxiety as many staff of the apex bank are confused.
A security source confirmed Obiora’s detention saying that he was not the only CBN official with the DSS but he refused to disclose the identities of the others.
It is being widely reported that Kingsley Obiora is in the DSS detention at the behest of the Special Investigations Panel set up by President Bola Tinubu, to investigate the tenure of the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele.
It was alleged that the Jim Obaze-led Special Investigations Panel “is mounting pressure on Obiora to stand as a witness against the suspended bank chief.
The panel is pressuring Obiora, a previous adviser, to testify against Emefiele.
While authorities have been questioning other senior officials of the bank, Dr Obiora is not accused of fraud or theft.
However, sources suggest the panel is insisting he knows more than he is sharing regarding Emefiele’s tenure, though he has apparently been highly cooperative despite their frustrating efforts.
Obiora was a policy chief at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and advised former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Godwin Emefiele until March 2, 2020, when he was confirmed to his current position as one of CBN’s four deputy governors.