Toba Owojaiye Reporting
The State Security Service has taken into custody Kingsley Obiora, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria responsible for economic policy. Mr. Obiora has been under interrogation for four nights, as the security service investigates allegations of financial misconduct during the tenure of Godwin Emefiele, who was removed from his position as CBN governor on June 10, 2023, following a controversial decision by President Bola Tinubu.
Despite two federal judges ordering Mr. Emefiele’s release, the SSS has continued to find new reasons to keep him in custody, often filing fresh charges to replace previous ones. A source familiar with Mr. Obiora’s arrest suggests that he is being targeted as a key witness against his former boss, Another senior CBN official, Abbas Masanawa, was recently arrested and detained as authorities investigate the extent of Mr. Emefiele’s alleged corruption.
Efforts to obtain immediate responses from the SSS and CBN regarding Mr. Obiora’s detention were unsuccessful, although officials indicated that this development was not entirely unexpected due to his in-depth knowledge of CBN’s policy decisions.
Born on March 6, 1976, Mr. Obiora previously served as a policy chief at the International Monetary Fund and advised former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. He also served as an advisor to Mr. Emefiele until March 2, 2020, when he was confirmed in his current role as one of CBN’s four deputy governors.
In late July, Tinubu appointed a special investigator, Jim Osayande Obazee, to probe the CBN and other federal agencies suspected of fostering a culture of public corruption. Mr. Obazee began his work in early August at the CBN, according to officials.