A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), including the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Coalition of Youth Groups in Nigeria, Citizens Network Against Corruption and Terrorism Financing and 27 others have demanded the immediate resignation of Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), over alleged terrorism financing, noting that he’s a national security threat.

Their demands come amid moves by the Department of State Service (DSS) to arrest the CBN governor over alleged terrorism financing.

An Abuja high court had earlier in the week refused to give the secret police a warrant to arrest Emefiele, arguing that only President Muhammadu Buhari could authorise such arrest.

Meanwhile, the CBN governor has not been seen in public since the saga began, and on Thursday, the apex bank said he had traveled out of the country for medical attention.

The CSOs in a press statement issued in Abuja on Friday, however, accused Emefiele of trying to blackmail the DSS, while accusing him of trying to “divert attention from the real issue of his alleged heinous crimes of terrorism financing.”

The statement was jointly signed by their coordinators, Comrade Solomon Adodo, NYCN; Comrade Okpanachi Jacob, Civil Society Advocacy Groups for Accountability and Probity; Comrade Balarabe Musa, Citizens Network Against Corruption and Terrorism Financing; Mallam Suleiman Musa, executive secretary, Empowerment for Unemployed Youths Initiative; Chief Igwe Ude-umanta, Nigerian Youth Centre for Leadership and Entrepreneurship Development; Comrade Gbolahan Adeyemi, Association of Artisans and Informal Workers; Chukwudi Oluoha Esq.; Coalition for Transparency and Accountability and Dr. Friday Onuh, Independent Security Monitoring and Assessment Team.

The coalition urged Emefiele to step down within 72 hours or or should be sacked.

According to the groups, “In that attempt, Mr. Emefiele has suddenly become both a saint and a messiah who wants to rescue Nigerians from the mess he created in the first place. Through some uninformed, poorly-informed and/or outrightly mischievous members of the civil society and the media, he is attempting to whip undue public sentiments to shield himself from proper public and security scrutiny, and from answering for his alleged crimes. We refuse to accept such bare-faced public blackmail.

“The fact is that if there is still a modicum of honour left in Mr. Emefiele, he should immediately resign and submit himself for security examination. We, therefore, offer the assistance of urging the CBN governor – Mr. Godwin Emefiele – to tender his resignation immediately. And if he fails to do so within 72 hours, both President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly should invoke the relevant laws to remove him.”

Describing the CBN governor as an economic disaster, the coalition said, he has “messed up every interventionist programme of the Buhari administration, including the Anchor Borrowers Programme and the credit facilities supposedly extended to farmers through the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).”

It further noted, “For clarity, under his poor oversight the former managing director of the NIRSAL continued to stay in office over a 2018 allegation of corruption amounting to a princely sum of N5.6 billion. He was only removed from office last month after multiple protests and petitions to that effect.

‘It is also under his direction, supervision and control that the worst Forex round tripping regime and scam in the history of Nigeria has been allegedly perpetuated. How then can such a man become an emergency saint and economic messiah simply because there is a credible question of National Security sabotage for him to answer?

“Yes, we must admit that there appears to be a coincidence between the maturity of the DSS investigation into his involvement in terrorism financing and the introduction of his military fashioned cashless policy (which was done without any consultation with critical stakeholders, including experts in the financial sector and the representatives of the Nigerian people).

“However, the DSS has never expressed, directly or indirectly, any disagreement with the legal and legitimate policies of the CBN. It is, therefore, unconscionable for anybody to infer that the DSS in doing its own constitutional duty is hunting Mr. Emefiele because of any policy. This is a mischief taken too far. Nigerians must not be deceived by it.

“Rather, Mr. Emefiele must be known for the economic disaster he has orchestrated. He must answer for the alleged crimes of treasonable proportion for which the DSS seeks his clarification of. It is a shame that a public officer of the standing of the CBN governor wants everything to be politicized.

“Of course, we warned about this dangerous trend when he became partisan, openly aspiring for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), before he was forced to withdraw. Is there any Nigerian who still genuinely believes that Mr. Godwin Emefiele is not a partisan politician? And so, should it surprise anybody that Mr. Emefiele knows that he has crimes to answer to, but is simply polluting the public space with his trademark politics, while hiding under the headship of an independent and ordinarily non-partisan institution like the CBN?

“As a matter of fact, what the CBN needs is a total, systematic and systemic cleansing. Therefore, not only should Emefiele resign or be relieved of his duties as CBN governor, his deputies and current directors of CBN should be investigated and all those found culpable should be sacked. The whole institution is in a mess.

“We urge President Muhammadu Buhari to look into this matter critically and invoke his powers under the law to sack the CBN governor. In case he refuses to immediately resign honourably, the National Assembly should also be ready to act in the interest of the security of the country.

“But importantly, we urge the DSS to be unwavering in carrying out its national security duties. No amount of blackmail or intimidation must make it backtrack from the truest and deepest professionalism that its duties require. They have our support and that of other patriots. Nigeria must remain safe, no matter whose ox is gored.

“Let us even seize this moment to salute the DSS for remaining focused and firm in the face of this organized campaign to blackmail the service. More campaigns are coming, but the DSS must remain strong as long as it is working with the security facts at its disposal.

“Once again, we urge Nigerians not to be deceived. We are taken aback that only in February here, the Peoples Democratic Party was calling not only for the sack of Mr. Eemefiele, but also for his prosecution. What has changed since then? Is it because it is alleged that he bought the party’s vice-presidential ticket for N19 billion for his kinsman?

“Before now, notable Nigerians have been invited over ongoing investigations and did not make a fuss about it. Why is Mr. Emefiele becoming a dramatist if he has nothing to fear? It is a thing of honour for the embattled CBN governor to honour invitation by the DSS or any other security agency rather than hiding under non-existent statutes and laws.

“We demand of the Federal Government to activate international protocols under the INTERPOL and get Mr. Emefiele back to the country to answer to his alleged crimes. For too long has he presented fake front and agenda to the president. This must not be allowed to persist.”

The coalition posed some “salient questions” to the CBN governor, which it said were critical at the present circumstances.

“There are salient questions Nigerians are asking Emefiele at this critical juncture to wit:

Are You A Terrorist? If You Are Not, Why Are You On The Run?

Notable Nigerians Have Been Quizzed By The DSS, Why Are You Hiding From Scrutiny?

Can You Run The Central Bank Of Nigeria From Abroad? Is Mr. Emefiele too big to be quizzed and detained?

“We owe this country eternal vigilance in the war against corruption and terrorism. Let us avoid every loud and noisy single narrative. Let only the truth prevail.”