MARKET NEWS

(Bloomberg) -- Nigeria has filed charges against suspended Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele after a court in the West African nation ruled that he should be charged or freed. 

Emefiele was arrested on the strength of suspected criminal infractions “one of which forms the basis of his current prosecution,” Nigeria’s State Security Service, which is similar to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, said in an emailed statement on Thursday. The charges were filed in compliance with the order of the court, the State Security Service said, adding that it will “ensure justice and fairness” in handling the matter. 

Emefiele has been in the custody of the State Security Service since June 9, a day after he was removed from his post by President Bola Tinubu. 

The suspended governor, whose tenure is scheduled to end in June 2024, said he was a victim of “a political witch-hunt,” according to his bail application filed June 13. Former President Muhammadu Buhari, who handed over to Tinubu on May 29, was “eminently satisfied with the monetary policies” under Emefiele, he said.

(Updates second paragraph with details from State Security Service)