Benjamin Fakunle, the outgoing Finance Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has reportedly been detained and arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS).
According to information gathered, Fakunle was arrested on Wednesday during his retirement party in Abuja and has since been detained by the DSS.
According to a report monitored by Business Day, the CBN official who recently retired was picked up because of his involvement in the apex bank’s recently released seven-year audited accounts, which it is said did not adhere to the required accounting and reporting standards.
Reports say Fakunle is being interrogated on why and how the accounting guidelines which allegedly deviated from the provisions of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) was used to prepare the published accounts of the CBN.
He would also be required to explain why some alleged N401 million was paid for the document as against the rules laid down by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria.
Fakunle is one of the top CBN officials who has been arrested and is currently being interrogated in relation to the investigations being conducted by Special Investigator Jim Obazee, who was appointed by President Bola Tinubu in July to look into the alleged financial irregularities of the CBN under suspended Governor Godwin Emefiele.
Since his arrest on June 10, 2023, a day after President Tinubu suspended him from office, Emefiele has remained in the DSS’s custody.
Ada Peter
