Emefiele: Arewa Leader, Banker-wife Arrested, Detained; Arewa Council Protests

By Gideon Njoku

Alhaji Aminu Yaro, Chairman, Arewa Council of Chiefs, Lagos, and his wife, reportedly, a banker with Zenith Bank Plc, are, allegedly, in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS. They have been in the past four days.

Yaro, who is also the Sarkin Hausawa of Lagos and his wife were allegedly invited by the DSS for interrogation following the arrest and detention by the DSS, of suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.

While the DSS has been tight-lipped on the reason for the alleged detention of Yaro and his wife, the Social Media is alive to  speculations as to why.

A WhatsApp post which has gone viral alleges that Yaro deposited the sum of N130 billion into his wife’s account in Zenith bank. The allegation continued: “In three of his accounts, there is a total of N407 billion.”

There is no confirmation to these allegations, just as not a few people are wondering why he would deposit such an obscene amount of money in a bank where his wife works.

But in a swift reaction, the Council of Arewa Chiefs in Southern Nigeria has condemned the arrest and detention of Yaro and his wife, and asked for their immediate release from custody.

The Council, in a statement signed by Jarman of Lagos, Yarima Shettima, declared   their detention as unlawful, and asked the DSS to grant  an immediate access to legal representation, medical attention and family members to the couple.

The statement stated:

“The attention of the Council of Arewa Chiefs, Lagos State has been drawn to the unexplained detention of the Sarkin Hausawa of Lagos and Chairman of the Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Aminu Idris Yaro with his wife by the Department of State Services (DSS).

“We note also that the Sarkin Hausawa has been held by the DSS incommunicado for the last three days following what initially was a routine invitation which he dutifully honoured.

“The Council of Arewa Chiefs also understands that Sarkin Hausawa is being held in connection with the ongoing investigation of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele.

“The Council is not unaware of the friendship relationship between Sarkin Hausawa and Mr Godwin Emefiele just the way Emefiele is friends with many other chiefs and dignitaries all over the country and around the globe.

“What is regrettable is, however, the unexplained connection of a friend with the ongoing investigation of Mr Emefiele who till this moment, as far as the public is concerned, is only being accused of possession of unlicensed firearms.

“The Council is concerned that the DSS might typically be used to hunt down respected leaders of the community using terrorism fight as a smoke screen,” the statement partly read.

Shettima said while the council was not challenging the power of the DSS and any security service in the country to invite any person for any of its investigations, the detention of the Yaro beyond 24 hours as stipulated in the law by the DSS, is “repugnant to the sensibilities of the traditional rulership system, the Arewa community and the Council of Chiefs.”

The statement asked the DSS to arraign Yaro before “a competent court of law rather than holding him indefinitely without any trial.”