The probe into the Nigerian financial system which could emerge as the biggest financial fraud in the history of the country is currently heating up, as the team of special investigators set up to probe the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and related entities are working to unravel a slew of crimes, already estimated at over N7 trillion.
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed former Chief Executive of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) and forensic auditor, Jim Obazee, as “Special Investigator” of the CBN and related entities in July.
It was gathered that the team of investigators, which included top Nigerian auditors and fraud detectives, was mandated to probe the activities of the apex bank and related entities under the suspended governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Those arrested and grilled by the Department of State Services (DSS) so far include executives of CBN’s consulting firms, top officials of the apex banks, and two deputy governors of the CBN – Kingsley Obiora and A’isha Ahmad.
Fresh updates from multiple sources knowledgeable about the operations told newsmen that the team is currently analyzing documents, memos, and oral confessions that could lead to more arrests in the coming days.
Anxiety over the extent of the investigation is spreading fast in the financial space as searchlight beans on “conspirators”. A source was quoted in a report as saying, “In the coming weeks, heads will roll across the board”.
With Obiora and Ahmad detained and questioned in the weeks since the probe commenced, the same source insisted yesterday that Nigerians could only imagine the depth of the rot in the system.
Efforts to reach Obazee regarding the investigation have been unsuccessful. He is said to have maintained a safe distance with even old friends since he took up the assignment.
