Alleged Illegal Acquisition: CBN Fires Union, Keystone, Polaris Bank Boards

There are strong indications that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finally wielded the big stick on some erring banks in the wake of details of alleged malfeasance that emerged from the report submitted by the President’s Special Investigator, Mr. Jim Obazee.

Some highly placed sources hinted Economic Confidential on Wednesday night that the affected banks include Union Bank, Polaris Bank and Keystone Bank.

One of the sources who sought anonymity told our editor that the decision to dissolve the boards was taken after a meeting between the CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, Obazee and the boards of the three affected banks.

Economic Confidential had also reported that the report of the Special Investigator showed that the former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, allegedly used his proxies to illegally acquire Union Bank.

The report further linked the late Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua, an ally of former President Muhammadu Buhari, alongside Emefiele, to the acquisition of Keystone Bank and Polaris Bank.

According to the report, the acquisitions were carried out separately over time as seen in the report submitted to President Tinubu on December 20, 2023.

The Special Investigator said that it reached the conclusion following the failure of the purported shareholders to appear before its panel with the necessary documents to prove that they genuinely acquired the bank and recommended that the Nigerian government should take over the bank from the purported owner.