PRESS BRIEFING | GEORGE UBOH WHISTLEBLOWERS NETWORK (GUWN)

Fellow Nigerians, as we celebrate Democracy Day today June 12, 2023, I, Dr. George Uboh, wish to thank God for saving my life when security agents shot my home indiscriminately on democracy day, June 12, 2021 as a result of my fight against corruption. I wish to thank our President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for his government’s courage in arresting a partisan CBN governor whose unprecedented crimes against humanity-the Nigerian masses are detailed herein. While the media is replete with report of Emefiele’s corruption post-arrest, pre-arrest, however, no Nigerian dared criticize the almighty Emefiele.

George Uboh Whistleblowers Network (hereinafter GUWN) exposed Emefiele’s corruption regarding forex fraud of over $3 billion usd via letters written to Emefiele on or about April 1, 2019. On May 15, 2019, the day Emefiele appeared before the Senate for screening and clearance for his second tenure, I was arrested in my Maitama office. I was detained for 101 days for defamation of Emefiele’s rotten character. The then-Chief Judge, FCT Ishaq Bello refused to hear my bail application. DIG Mike Ogbizi verbally denied me bail after I fulfilled the administrative bail granted to me by his men at force CID.

The maiden edition of George Uboh magazine launched on April 6, 2023 (my birthday) is currently in circulation. On Page 41 is a letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance’s whistleblowers office to the Federal Ministry of Justice captioned: RE: INVESTIGATION REPORT ON ALLEGED DEPLETION OF NIGERIA EXTERNAL RESERVE BY MTN, IBTC BANK, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK IN COLLABORATION WITH CBN OFFICIALS TO THE TUNE OF $25,698,363,716:40. In it, GUWN was recognized as the whistleblowers and the ministry of justice was requested to furnish the ministry of finance the details of the legal action taken towards the recovery and remittance of the sum of $25.6 billion. Pages 32 and 37 are letters from Godwin Emefiele-led CBN to MTN and its bankers fining MTN and its bankers aggregate of $8.1 billion for the same fraud allegation of $25.6 billion. Certainly, Emefiele’s report is self-serving because CBN officials were neck-deep in the fake Certificates of Capital Importation (CCIs), the predicate offense which originated from the CBN on which the fraud allegation is premised. I hereby posit that the correct figure is $25,698,363,716:40 which was investigated by a seasoned bank fraud examiner. The collateral loss to Nigeria if Emefiele had pushed for the prosecution and implementation of the extant CBN regulation is $25,698,363,716:40 times 10 which is $256,983,637,164. The actual and collateral losses total $282,682,000,880.40. Readers may pick up a copy from vendors on the streets on Abuja. The magazine is replete with all pertinent documents. GUWN is in possession of evidence germane to 101 trillion naira stamp duty fraud allegation against Emefiele, AGF Malami, etc.. Emefiele was caught on tape along with some CBN staff lamenting the loss of N500 billion naira within the CBN. Emefiele was caught on tape calling former President Buhari and his friends thieves, which is a classic case of the chicken coming home to roost or the kettle calling the pot black

Emefiele’s Partisanship, naira Redesign and Crime against Humanity
On May 3, 2023, we occupied the CBN in protest of the naira redesign. In the history of Nigeria, there has never been a CBN Governor who, while holding sway as the CBN governor, ran for any political office. Emefiele’s daring move to run for the highest office in Nigeria is unprecedented, a complete deviation from the global norm, a flagrant disregard for the sanctity of the apex bank universally and a wanton desecration of the exalted office of the Central Bank Governor. The reason we are drawing the readers’ attention to Emefiele’s incestuous relationship with politics and his thirst to be Nigeria’s President as the first wrong, is because this act delves into the mindset of Emefiele upon which other acts rest. In other words, because Emefiele was nursing the ambition to become Nigeria’s President when he assumed office, Emefiele opened the CBN vault to bankroll President Jonahan’s election in 2015 which he lost; Emefiele opened the CBN vault for President Muhammadu Buhari’s men after Buhari won the 2015 election ( as captured in a recorded conversation in my possession in which Emefiele called Buhari and his friends thieves); Emefiele opened the CBN vault to bankroll President Buhari’s 2019 election; In 2023, given the favors Emefiele did for Buhari and his men, Emefiele boldly came out to run for President without President Buhari and his cabinet-who he called thieves in the recorded conversation-questioning such grave and unprecedented conflict of interest at best or illegality at worst. Emefiele’s mindset to become Nigeria’s President ab initio when he assumed office is the reason behind Emefiele’s thirst for monumental amassment of wealth as demonstrated herein; wealth he used to oil the law enforcement agencies and judiciary in order to silence anyone who criticized him; when Emefiele’s plan to become Nigeria’s President failed, Emefiele unleashed crimes against humanity through financial hardships and deaths against the masses as recognized by the supreme court.

Nigerians will recall that on October 26, 2022, Emefiele announced that new naira notes would be introduced to replace the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes and that the redesign will take effect from Thursday, December 15, 2022. At the unveiling of the new naira notes at the State House on November 23, 2022, Emefiele told newsmen that the existing notes would cease to be legal tender by January 31, 2023. Emefiele introduced the new notes, albeit no one had access to neither the old notes which was not a legal tender, nor the new notes. There was extensive global reportage on millions of people in Nigeria queuing at banks for days to access the new notes either through ATMs or through cashiers only to meet ATMs/cashiers without cash or ATMs/cashiers dispensing meager cash of N5,000 which is less than $10. This cruel and unusual punishment unleashed on the masses in Nigeria led to numerous deaths, because people faced with clear and present medical emergencies could not afford to pay medical bills given Nigeria’s cash-based system; people died from anxiety and exacerbation of underlying illnesses due to lack of access to cash; households could not function due to lack of cash to buy groceries; construction workers, to wit; masons, carpenters, electricians etc. who have no bank accounts hence accept cash payments daily were starved to death due to lack of funds to pay them; businesses were crippled. On or about March 3, 2023, the supreme court directed the CBN to continue to receive the old notes in conjunction with the new notes. The court held that the directive for the redesign of the new notes and withdrawal of the old notes without due consultation is invalid; the court also condemned the disobedience of the court’s 8 February order that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes should continue to circulate alongside the new ones; that the broadcast of 16 February, 2023 that only N200 notes should remain legal tender made Nigeria’s democracy look like a mere pretension while democracy is replaced with autocracy. “It is not in doubt that the President refused to comply with the order of the court that the old 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes should continue to be legal tender,” the court said. “Interestingly, there is even nothing to show that the directive for the release of N200 notes was implemented; that the policy has led to scarcity of currency notes, bringing untold hardship to millions of citizens in an economy significantly driven by the informal sector with a large proportion of unbanked persons. Given the supreme court’s order calling the policy surrounding the new notes undemocratic, autocratic, and recognizing the cruel and unusual punishment the policy has caused and is still causing the masses, we conclude that Emefiele has committed crime against humanity-the Nigerian masses. We hereby call on the international community to take cognizance of this crime as recognized by Nigeria’s supreme court. Emefiele unleashed financial genocide on the masses because he failed to become Nigeria’s President. Period.

In other climes, law enforcement agencies work with whistleblowers, activists, and anti-corruption crusaders to solve crimes, trace stolen funds and, of course, in return protect and compensate them. Accordingly, we humbly request that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR direct and implement the following:

Prayers
a) Direct law enforcement agencies to work with whistleblowers in order to solve crimes swifter, trace and recover mind-boggling funds stolen or trapped; and,
b) Implement and strengthen the whistleblower policy initiated by his predecessor, with an office (not domiciled in any ministry for sake of conflict of interest) to be headed by someone who has the capacity and passion to imbibe all the tenets of whistleblowing, who has suffered the humiliations of whistleblowing thus has the requisite experience to protect whistleblowers from adverse treatments and compensate them.

God Bless Nigeria.

Dr. George Uboh
Chairman, George Uboh Whistleblowers Network (GUWN)
+234 809 640 0000