The Department of State Services (DSS) has released Mr. Kingsley Obiora, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in charge of Economic Policy, following his four-day detention in the agency’s custody, BusinessDay has reported.
Mr. Obiora was apprehended by the DSS on Tuesday as part of an ongoing investigation into senior officials of the CBN, which began with the suspension of the bank’s Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
While in detention, Mr. Obiora was reportedly subjected to pressure to act as a witness against the suspended CBN chief in the ongoing investigations.
President Tinubu had appointed a special panel led by Mr. Jim Obazee to investigate the CBN following the arrest and prosecution of Emefiele over alleged financial infractions in late July.
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The panel has been questioning Deputy Governors of the CBN and other senior officials of the bank as part of the ongoing audit.
According to THEWILL, Mr. Obiora had been cooperating with the investigative team, which is based within the premises of the DSS in Abuja since Tuesday afternoon, where he was pressured to provide information on the activities of his former boss, Emefiele.
Emefiele himself has been in DSS custody since June 10, 2023, a day after President Tinubu removed him from office.
BusinessDay quoted a source saying, “Let us be clear. No one is accusing Dr. Obiora of fraud or theft. Dr. Obiora,, like other Deputy Governors, have been severely questioned by the panel before his detention. They, however, do not believe that he has told them everything he knows. They are forcing him to admit to things he has no direct knowledge of nor is part of the decision-making process. This is where there is an issue, and it has been quite frustrating for the respected economist, who joined the apex bank from the respected IMF”, a source had said.