A federal high court sitting in Abuja has declined an application by the Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest and detain the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

In declining the motion ex parte — filed by an applicant in the absence of the respondent — the chief judge, Justice John Tsoho, said the secret police did not provide any concrete evidence to substantiate its claims that Emefiele was involved in terrorism financing and economic crimes.

The court said such an application should have been accompanied with the presidential approval because of the grave implications for the Nigerian economy if the CBN governor is arrested and detained.

There are suggestions that the bid to arrest Emefiele might be political given the impact the redesign of the naira and limit on cash withdrawals might have on vote-buying in the 2023 elections.

Earlier on Monday, a group of civil society organizations had raised the alarm that there was a plot to frame Emefiele for terrorism and remove him from office.

Meanwhile, DSS has warned Nigerians against being used to undermine its investigations.

In a statement, DSS spokesperson, Peter Afunanya, said the service will not be distracted by those seeking to use “propaganda” to undermine its lawful investigations.