…As he lacks power to summon them
Jim Obazee, President Tinubu’s man probing the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN), has met resistance from Babatunde Lemo and other C-suite officials of Titan Trust Bank (TTB) Ltd., amid growing concerns about the special investigator’s authority to summon targets of his probe.
Recall that Lemo, Titan Trust’s Chairman, and Cornelis Vink, its Chief Executive, had been invited to appear on December 28, 2023, to respond to relevant queries about Titan Trust’s questionable acquisition of Union Bank of Nigeria.
Obazee said his office determined ex-CBN governor Godwin Emefiele used Lemo and others as proxies to set up Titan Trust Bank, which then acquired Union Bank, one of the largest legacy financial institutions in Nigeria.
Obazee said the bankers agreed to honour the invitation but tried to back out at the last minute. He said he would not extend the invitation, and threatened to confiscate Union Bank and other assets of Titan Trust Bank. The Investigator has also targeted Rahul Savara, another executive of Titan Trust, as part of the allegations that State funds via CBN under Emefiele were used to secure the assets.
Obazee has faced challenges in getting Lemo, a former CBN deputy governor and others, because he lacks the power to compel the cooperation of suspects in his criminal investigation, it was gathered.
The Special Investigator, who was previously found culpable in a civil sexual assault case, was appointed in late March by Tinubu with a focus on financial mismanagement at CBN under Emefiele as the primary focus.
However, he was not granted prosecutorial sovereignty as required by the Nigerian Constitution. Unlike the Police, EFCC, ICPC and other agencies with state or federal statutes to prosecute, Obazee was only appointed on an ad-hoc basis and did not receive a fiat to bring charges from the attorney general’s office.
Obazee also did not approach federal courts to obtain subpoenas for targets like Messrs Lemo and Vink.
Lemo’s lawyer, Gbolahan Elias, declined comments about whether or not his client received any court order to appear for questioning before Obazee.
Obazee has reportedly said he received his investigative authority from the President but did not elaborate on the nature thereof.
