Under the leadership of former governor Godwin Emefiele, a report by Jim Obazee, appointed by President Bola Tinubu to investigate, has exposed severe mismanagement, fraud, and arbitrary practices at the Central Bank of Nigeria, resulting in substantial financial losses running into trillions for the country.

Following the suspension of Emefiele as Governor of the CBN on June 9, 2023, the President appointed a Special Investigator to delve into the affairs of the apex bank.

Subsequently, the former CBN head was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) before being transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He faced arraignment on November 17, charged with six counts related to an alleged N1.6 billion procurement fraud.

After the submission of the interim and final reports by the Special Investigator on December 20, it seems Emefiele might face even greater trouble ahead.

The reports highlighted extensive financial misconduct, not solely attributed to Emefiele but also implicating other high-ranking officials from the apex bank, individuals from the former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, and a Minister, as disclosed by a source.

A total of 16 individuals identified in the report have been recommended for prosecution due to their involvement in various fraudulent activities within the CBN.

The reports outlined numerous violations of the CBN Act, citing instances of arbitrariness, fund diversion, and misappropriation, alongside forgery and collusion, involving Emefiele and associates both within and outside the CBN.

One significant highlight of Emefiele’s arbitrariness, as revealed by a source, includes the investment of billions of dollars from Nigeria into accounts in the United States, China, and the United Kingdom without obtaining approval from the CBN Board or the Investment Committee.

The Special Investigator’s findings uncovered over 500 such accounts operated by the CBN during Emefiele’s tenure, with £543,482,213 held in fixed deposits within one UK account.

The Special Investigator successfully traced all the accounts in question.

Additionally, the report shed light on the fraudulent and mismanaged utilization of the controversial Ways and Means program during the Buhari administration at the CBN.

The investigation revealed that the management of the Ways and Means program was characterized by significant arbitrariness under Emefiele, involving funds withdrawn from the national treasury without the required authorization.

The report from the Special Investigator highlighted the inability of CBN officers to provide a satisfactory account of how the over N27 trillion was spent or authorized by the president.

Regarding the nearly N30 trillion presented to the 9th National Assembly under the guise of “Ways and Means” financing, CBN officials were only able to justify over N9 trillion.

There was also an alleged non-negotiated or unadvised interest element of over N6 trillion.

This discrepancy raised concerns, suggesting that the ‘Way and Means Financing’ served as a channel for misappropriation during Emefiele’s leadership at the CBN and within the Ministry of Finance.

The report, relying on documents from the CBN and the Ministry of Finance, accounted for just over N4 trillion at the time when the former administration requested the 9th Assembly to securitize advances of N22,719,703,774,306.90 on December 19, 2022, which went against the CBN Act of 2007.

Adding to the puzzle was the revelation that Emefiele urged Buhari to initiate the restructuring of the “Ways and Means” totaling N23,719,703,774,306.90 on the same day the N22 trillion was presented to the National Assembly for securitization.

Emefiele asserted the final “Ways and Means” figure stood at N26.627 trillion by June 8, 2023, suggesting that under his leadership, the CBN continued to dubiously print money despite public outcry, as noted in the report.

Additionally, the report outlined how the CBN, during Emefiele’s tenure, mismanaged approximately N1.622 trillion allocated for COVID-19 intervention.

Unauthorized transfers and donations to various individuals and organizations were highlighted. Shockingly, the Special Investigator’s findings uncovered how the former CBN Governor manipulated former President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive concerning the establishment of the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) Stabilization Strategy Limited.

Contrary to the former President’s directive to establish the entity as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) limited by Guarantee, Emefiele incorporated the entity as a company limited by shares.

This move allowed the entity to issue debentures, despite being a newly established entity.

Consequently, the former CBN Governor facilitated the issuance of over N64 billion in debentures by the company, which was sanctioned by the Committee of Governors of the CBN during its meeting on January 21, 2015, in violation of Section 31 of the CBN Act, 2007.

The Special Investigator’s report indicated a staggering total of N952 billion diverted from the CBN vaults under this pretense by the end of the 2021 financial year.

Specifically, N1.325 billion was diverted to four companies before their incorporation, while 14 banks were implicated in fraudulently diverting over N17 billion from the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilization Facility.

Another alarming revelation was Emefiele’s decision to initiate an economically detrimental naira redesign policy at the urging of a Buhari aide, Tunde Sabiu. Emefiele pursued this initiative, which resulted in the collapse of numerous small and micro-businesses and financial ruin for many Nigerians, without securing the President’s permission, contradicting Section 19(1) of the CBN Act.

The Special Investigator’s findings revealed that the CBN Board was not involved in the decision to redesign the currency. Instead, the initiative was proposed to Emefiele by Sabiu during a visit to the presidential villa in September 2022. Subsequently, on October 6, 2022, the former CBN Governor forwarded a memo to the President seeking approval for the venture, which was granted the same day. The President’s directive stipulated that the new naira notes should be printed domestically.

However, contrary to the President’s instruction, Emefiele awarded the design contract to a UK firm, De La Rue, resulting in the apex bank incurring a cost of N61.5 billion for the printing.

Moreover, Emefiele left behind a debt exceeding N30 billion for the currency printing, with only N31.79 billion of the contract sum paid by the time of his departure from office.