 The battle between the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Gardiner Mephile and the Department of State Services over a plan to arrest the governor may have been put on hold as Mephile resumed yesterday. The CBN governor on Monday resumed at the CBN Headquarters after spending several weeks in the United Kingdom and the United States following reported plots by the DSS to arrest him. The bank has urged Nigerians to continue to support the policies of the bank aimed at ensuring a stable financial system and the Nigerian economy in general. Well joining us to discuss this is Datoong Hassan, he is a legal practitioner and Achike Chudei who is a public affairs analyst. Thank you so much gentlemen for joining us tonight. I think that both of you are muted so we can't hear you. Okay, but I'm going to start with- I'm not muted. Okay, I can hear you now. I'm going to start with you Achike. Hello. Yeah. Okay, first things first, there seem to have been a pause with the CBN governor and him making the news and the headlines right after the very interesting change of the look and feel of the Naira. There was not a lot happening in that area and then the story of the fact that his office was being invaded by some men suspected to be from the DSS. Now we remember that the senior advocate of Nigeria, Femi Faluna, was quoted to say that it may feel it was not in the country and then the next thing we saw was that invasion. Even though the State Department of State Services has come out to say that these men did not belong to the DSS, what do you make of this or did this not even happen in the first instance? Well, it's- you continue to see manifestations of the theatre of the absorbed in Nigeria, obviously. The whole episode between the Naira and the DSS is another happening, another event that it's also unprecedented. And so when you look at so many other things that have gone on within the quality, especially under the platform, under the watch of Mr. President and the APC, the All Progressive Congress, you realize that so many things are taking, you know, beyond the pale, that so many things are getting to the zeniths and that some of these things are unprecedented or even if there are things that have happened in the past, but these ones have gone to a completely different level. We have never had an instance in this country where the DSS will seek to go to court and seek to arrest, you know, a sitting CBN government. But again, you just- it is good that you mentioned the Femi Faluna because he was one that reminded us about a similar scenario under the Jonathan Administration when the data administration had a running battle with the former CBN government, former, the man in charge of the well-being of Hamidosanusi. Yes, that's Hamidosanusi. We do have some audio coming from one of you. I don't know where it's coming from. I'm okay now because I was also hearing that. Anyway, so again, it was the same scenario with Hamidosanusi, you know, the Lamidosanusi and the former Amy of Canada, where the government tried to also arrest him because they had a running battle with him. So it's not a new thing. And what was the charge against, you know, Sanucidan? It was the same charge of terrorism. So what it tells you is that we- I don't know exactly what it is that Mefile has done to incur the wrath of the DSS. But one thing that is obvious is that Mefile has needlessly caught a controversy since he became the governor of the CBN and the heights of it really, you know, and which was insulting to a lot of Nigerians was that he had desecrated the position of the central bank governor to double into politics. Obviously, we know, you know, the position of the central bank governor, usually a banker is said to be a very conservative kind of person. He doesn't caught controversy. When you become the governor of the central bank of Nigeria, even Monso, you know, your conservatism, you know, and you don't get into all this controversy. So that was a law for the governor of the central bank of Nigeria. So from that then, you went into the controversy of this new currency. Obviously, he has the right to institute a new currency to, you know, to redesign the currency of Nigeria. The CBN acts gives him that right as long as it's in consultation with the president. But that also had its own controversy because the minister of finance, who should have been in the know, said that she had no idea of what was going on. You know, so, but beyond that is the fact that when eventually the DSS wanted him arrested, they went to court. And the judge in the court, the judge was also very smart and wary and suspicious of what the DSS was trying to do, because that activity itself of taking, of going to court to effect, to get an order to effect his arrest was sloping the teeth. If you remember what the judge said, he said, I know a certain God in a mafia league. Is it the same God in a mafia league that is the governor of the central bank of Nigeria? And when the DSS assigned the affirmative, he was wondering why it was hidden, because the God in a mafia league is a known name in the country, you know, and then beyond that, he said, but the other day, just about 24 hours earlier, they made a day I saw him in Athorok. He was in Athorok with obviously with the president of this country, with the president of the country. And so if you needed to effect an arrest, you would be the first place you didn't even need to come to the court to seek the permission of the court to arrest him. He does not have immunity. But it is proper for you to also see the man who appointed the military as governor of the CBN, to also discuss whatever it is you have found wrong with a mafia league. So, you know, for me, the whole thing, whatever, you know, is going on between the DSS and the military has nothing and I believe it has nothing to do with terrorism. And the reason why I say so is this. They have to not even know whether the DSS or the people trying to, you know, who are trying to get rid of a mafia league. I don't I'm not sure whether they have approached the EFCC or the police or the ICTC because it is those institutions if a mafia league has been involved in any kind of corruption of a national crime. It is those institutions that should be the organizations, you know, that should be involved in the prosecution of a mafia league. That did not happen. So for the last one, so for the DSS to be able to take an arrest, they had to say something that was within the purview of the operation. And that is to insinuate that he is sponsoring terrorism. And that's why they were able to get to waiting on what is going on. But it is surprising that the president of the nation has not said anything about what is going on. Exactly. And that's my question to Dr. I think that you're in a very noisy place and we're unable to hear you clearly because all we can hear is some background noise. I hope that you can, you know, deal with that. Yeah, I can hear you clearly. Yes, but we're getting feedback from you. What do you think this is about? Because again, just like Achike has said, he doesn't think that this has anything to do with terrorism. If the CBN governor was seen recently with Mr. President, again, my question is if the DSS works for the president, your reports to the presidency, what exactly do you think is going on here? And should we be worried about the fact that if the DSS may be acting on their own and what else should we be worried about? Well, let me first of all clear an impression. The DSS is an institution that is established by the HACTA, the National Assembly, and has the sole right to investigate any matter whatsoever that has to do with the territorial interests of this country, be it security, financial issues. As far as they can suspiciously believe that it's a crime to be committed or a committed crime, they can investigate and report to the appropriate authorities. Doctor, are you there? I think that we've lost our connection. Doctor, can you hear me? Unfortunately, I think we've lost that connection again. With Doctor, are you there? Can you hear me? Sorry about that. Doctor, can you hear me? Achike, I think- As far as we believe that it's a good, the DSS needs to really- Doctor, we lost you for a second. We didn't hear anything that you said. The fact that the DSS have been emerged in act of unlawful arrest, attacks, invasions of judges, of houses, of all others, they still have those right to investigate, but even that at it may, they just need for more human rights face to be rigid into the operations of the DSS. And I just want to believe that that is why they approach the court to seek for warrant of arrest. They might not have done much of disclosure before the court, depending on their investigation. They say they've already unraveled investigation. As such investigation, according to the law, they are discreet and need not be told to the whole world. But we believe if the CBN Govno had no skeleton in the cupboard, it should also be able to come forward. So Doctor, you believe that the CBN Governor is could be funding terrorism? Doctor, can you hear me? The CBN Govno on notice that they cannot grant the expert, the emotional expert without putting the Govno on notice. So for be that at it may, in as much as the, we've had issues of national security, the DSS, the CBN Govno to have had in law by also junketing into political arena, which is which ought not to be. So there are a lot of anomalies that is going on in the system. And it seems the Nigerian system gives room for this kind of excesses or this kind of impunity. And for whatever, this should not be seen as an issue of ethnic interest or somebody wanting to remove a Delta person and they need a Delta chief of Army staff to protect each other. Or there are a lot of issues that we need accurate information for this issue to be properly put in the right information. We expect the Minister of Information to have given us the right and detailed fact because the CBN Govno is an appointee of Mr. President. I'm sorry. What does, what does? I don't know if you can hear me, Dato. This is the same government. So whatever the carbons we're doing are operating upon, the law is sacrosanct. But whatever I want to believe that the DSS must have unravel, let there be a proper disclosure because if there is a substantial and prima facie evidence of criminality, let that be put to the fore. Nobody's about the law. Let them work with the necessary personal guidelines. I don't know if you can hear me, Dato. So that once they have met with their necessary personal guidelines, let them go forward. They need to have served the people that are going on. I need to be sure that you can hear me. So I'm going to ask a simple question. Do you believe that the Central Bank Govno, Godwin and Mayfee Lee, is involved in financing terrorism? I'm asking this question succinctly because you've said, oh, the Minister of Information is supposed to wade in on the matter and tell us exactly what's going on. What if, because you've also said that the DSS does have some form of independence. What would the Minister of Information be saying to Nigerians if he's not privy to what the DSS is doing? Dato, I'm so sorry. I don't think you can hear me. So I'm going to toss that question to Achike. Achike, some of the things that Dato has said, for me, raises a lot more questions. Again, if it has to do with terrorism, I mean, like he said, we can't put anything far from anyone, especially for a person who has been seen by all Nigerians to have political leanings. We're not in any way passing judgment, but then we're asking. If the Information Minister is being asked to speak, what exactly will he be speaking on? And I ask again, could the DSS be working on their own, being that they do not have anyone to trust? And why would Mr. President be left out of all of this? Why would we have a government that is weak? There is a possibility of having a government within the government. And we have many instances of the people who are working within the government or within the structure, and they are also working against that structure indirectly without letting their hands show. So I don't know exactly what is going on. But what I'm saying is exactly what the judge said. The judge was surprised at the DSS, first of all, needed intervention of the court to affect the arrest of anybody, because they did not need that direction from the court. They did not need that direction to investigate anybody. Obviously, for them to have come to the court, they must have been based on an investigation that they had already carried out on the CDN, governor. So that means they didn't need the direction of the court to institute an investigation. And then why do you now, after having investigated and you feel you have a case, why do you need the permission of the court to affect the arrest of the governor of the CDN? So these are some of the things. And they didn't, and in getting to the court, they hid the identity of the person that they were going to, that they wanted the court to intervene in on. And that is the identity of the CDN governor. They just mentioned the name, one god in a method. Now, so you wouldn't name the judge for being highly suspicious of the activities of the motive of the DSS. Besides, the judge had just seen the CDN governor about 24 hours before that time at the presidency with the president. So if there was an issue, and that is the way the judge was looking at it, as grave as the CDN governor, the central bank governor of the country like Nigeria, financing terrorism that has brought so much instability in the country. Why would the DSS chief, the director general of the DSS not go to the president with this grave allegation? Because you're about to move against one of the most important appointees of the president. And in doing that, you're going to embarrass the president and embarrass his entire administration. That his administration is housing people, accommodating people who are busy on the mining, people who are in sensitive position, but busy on the mining, the territorial integrity of this country and bringing about instability of the Nigerian state. But this is not new, is it? This is not the first time that a seating president has alluded to the fact that there are people who are either funding terrorism or parts of corruption in his cabinet. Good luck, Jonathan, didn't meet to that. You see, but this is the first time the directorate of state services is coming with an allegation before the court to say it is the governor of the central bank of Nigeria or that he's one of the people financing terrorism. This is unprecedented, it has never happened. So why will you not now discuss it as becoming a serious security issue that would have devastating, perhaps, very debilitating impact on the economy because of the position of the CBM governor? Why would you not bring the matter up before the man who appointed him? Because he's responsible to the president. So this is the issue. To nobody is saying, look, that the DSS does not have any authority to investigate anything that has to do with the instability of the Nigerian state, especially things like terrorism financing and the rest. But the issue is, why keep it away from the president? And since that has happened, why has the president not made a statement? Either if he could not make a statement directly, he always talks to Nigerians through his spokesmen, Sio Garber and the female national or even through the minister of information. Why has the government been silent? And that is what is worrisome about this government, that in moments of national crisis, in our national emergencies, the government, especially the president, is quiet. And so it is not in any way, it does not all go well for the government and for the perception that people have of this government as a government that is interested in what is going on in the country. I wish we could continue having this conversation because there are lots of questions that need to be answered. But again, we will revisit this issue. I want to say thank you. He is a public affairs analyst. Dr. Hassan is a legal practitioner. Unfortunately, he disconnected because of connection issues. We couldn't really hear him. Thank you so much, gentlemen, for being part of the conversation. We appreciate it. Thank you. All right. Thank you very much. And that's the show tonight. Don't forget, do go get your PVC, find out where your ward is, go pick it up or where you registered and make sure that you hold onto it because that's your passport to a new Nigeria. We'll see you tomorrow on Plus Politics as we talk continuously for development. I am Mary Anna Cohn. Have a good evening.