SaharaReporters learnt that on Friday that Obiora had been detained by the secret police for four days.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kingsley Obiora.

SaharaReporters learnt that on Friday that Obiora had been detained by the secret police for four days.

The details of his alleged offence were sketchy at the time of filing and efforts to reach the spokesperson for the DSS, Peter Afunanya on the phone were not successful. When SaharaReporters called Afunanya, he asked our reporter to send him a text message, however, he had not replied to the message seeking details about Obiora’s arrest at the time of filing this report.

Obiora resumed as a Deputy Governor in the Central Bank of Nigeria on March 2, 2020. Prior to this, he was an Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC, USA.

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In this capacity, he was a member of the Executive Board, collectively responsible for conducting the daily operations of the IMF. He also assisted in representing the interests of 23 African countries, including Nigeria, on the Board.

The DSS in June arrested Godwin Emefiele in Lagos, shortly after President Bola Tinubu suspended him from office as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and ordered a probe of the CBN.

The DSS recently filed fresh charges against Emefiele and two other defendants, a female CBN employee, Sa’adatu Yaro and her company, April 1616 Investment Limited over alleged N6.9 billion procurement fraud, conspiracy and conferring corrupt advantages on his associates.

This came barely 24 hours after SaharaReporters reported that the Nigerian Government applied to withdraw the “illegal possession of firearms” case it filed against Godwin Emefiele, at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mohammed Bakodo Abubakar told Justice Nicholas Oweibo that the application followed the result of further investigation.

He made his application orally.

But the defence counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN) opposed him, arguing that because the government was in disobedience of the court’s order granting Emefiele bail, its application could not be taken.

Before Emefiele’s previous charges were withdrawn by the government, he was admitted to N20 million bail on two counts of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and ordered his remand at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre, pending the fulfilment of his bail conditions.

But the DSS rearrested the embattled bank chief after fighting off prison officials on the court’s premises.

However, the new charge sheet alleged that the three accused persons bought a fleet of 98 exotic vehicles and armoured buses valued at about N6.9bn.

It was reported that 84 Toyota Hilux trucks, 10 armoured Mercedes Benz buses, three Toyota Landcruisers, and one Toyota Avalon automobile were purchased between 2018 and 2020.