CBN investigator rejects request to reschedule meeting, as Lemo, Emefiele risk losing Union, Titan Banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria, Special Investigator has rejected a request by the Chairman of Titan Trust Bank Limited, Babatunde Lemo, asking him to reschedule a meeting that was supposed to take place today, 28th December, 2023 for January, 2024.

Insisting that the meeting must take place today, the Special Investigator, Jim Obazee warned that Mr Babatunde Lemo and other major stakeholders in the Titan Bank and Union Bank may lose their ownership status if they failed to honour the invitation.

Lemo’s lawyers have written a letter demanding for a rescheduled meeting with the team of investigators who were raised to probe activities of the former Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele.

It was believed that Tunde Lemo, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria was used as a proxy by Godwin Emefiele in acquiring Union Bank PLC and establishing Titan Trust Bank.

In a letter of rejection which was signed by the Head of Operations, Office of the Special Investigator, Eloho Okpoziakpo, a Deputy Commissioner of Police dated 27th December, 2023, the investigator also turned down a proposal by Lemo that the major shareholders of Titan Trust Bank, Mr Cornelius Vink and Rahul Savara, should be given seven days to prove their purported ownership of TTB and Union Bank of Nigeria or forfeit the shares to the Federal Government.

The letter of summon to Lemo, urged him to report to the Department of Force Intelligence opposite the Force headquarters, Shehu Shagari Way, Abuja, on Thursday (today), where he will be grilled by a team of detectives probing the UBN acquisition.

“Kindly note that the conditions on paragraphs 6 to 8 in our earlier letter to you with reference number CR:3000/TSI/ABJ/VOL. 1/69 dated 24th December 2023 remain effective and shall be triggered if you or Messrs Vink and Savara fail to attend the meeting as scheduled.”

Obazee, who was appointed special investigator in July 2023, submitted his final report tagged, ‘Report of the Special Investigation on CBN and Related Entities (Chargeable offences)’ to the Presidency on December 20.

In two separate reports on the acquisition of UBN and Keystone Bank submitted to President Bola Tinubu on December 20, Obazee also revealed that Emefiele used proxies to acquire Keystone Bank without evidence of payment.