By Lateef Adegbite
For Dennis Amachree, a former Assistant Director, Department of State Security, DSS, this is not the best of times for the office of the National security Adviser, NSA, under the close watch of Nuhu Ribadu, an Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, rtd, and former Executive Chairman, of Economic and Financial Crimes, EFCC, over the mysterious escape of Nadeen Anjarwalla, the 38 year –old British- Pakistanian, Citizen, who holds both the British and Keyan passports from Nigeria.
Anjarwalla, the African regional Manager of Binance Crypto currency Exchange platform, who had been been arrested and detained by the Nigeria government alongside with Tigran Gambaryan, a North American country of the US , citizen, in a guest house operated by the NSA office in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, had escaped to tin air from Nigeria on, Friday, March 22, 2024, without the knowledge of the security personnel detailed to watch over him and his colleague .
Amachere , a former DSS, Assistant Director, had said that if the office of the NSA, had allowed the Ola Olukoyede led EFCCC, or Yusuf Magaji Bichi, controlled SSS, which has Detention facilities to keep the two Binance top Executives in their custody, Anjarwalla, who may have proved difficult to manage by the NSA , security personnel would have found it extremely very difficult to escape.
He noted that though the office of the NSA, may have claimed that it has the capacity and all what it takes to hold the two Binance top Executives in their custody at the FCT, but Ribadu and his officials should have gone a step further ‘’to place them on the watch list of the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS’’, under the lose watch of Kemi Nandap since February 26, 2024, when they were arrested and detained in their FCT, operated guest house to forestall any plot to escape from Nigeria.
The former DSS, Assistant Director of DSS, had alluded to the fact that the NSA security personnel detailed to watch over the Binance to Executives laid the foundation for Anjarwalla, the British-Pakistan, who was already in the black book of the Nigerian government due to the crypto currency exchange platform illegal business activities in Nigeria, paving the way for him to escape.
He had said that officials of the office of the NSA, ought to have been aware from the onset that Anjarwalla, will take advantage of the Ramadan Festival to escape at the slightest opportunity.
He was emphatic that the first mistake the office of the NSA, had made was was to detain the Binance Crypto currency Exchange platform two top Executives in a guest House, in Abuja, where they were exposed to mobile phones, television and other Communication facilities that was said to have made it possible for them to reach out to his friends both within and outside Nigeria including their family members Anjarwalla, may have seen it as an opportunity to perfect his plan to escape from Nigeria.
Many believe that the British-Pakistan top Executive of Binance who has made so many friends in Nigeria in the course of the Crypto currency Exchange operations may have started plotting for his escape on February 26, 2024, when he was arrested and detained with his colleague from US.
Indeed,the opportunity for Anjarwalla to escape from nIGeria with the support of his friends in the Keyan Embassy may have come at the start of the Ramadan Fasting, as he was said to have sought the permission of the security personnel rom the office of the, NSA, detailed to watch over him and the American , in the NSA, Abuja operated guest house, to allow him to go to a nearby Mosque on Friday, March 22, 2024, for Jumat prayers’’ in the spirit of the Season’, leaving out Gamaryan, his Colleague from the US.
Anjarwalla, described as a hard and smart crypto currency exchange player in financial circles may not have taken the American detained in the NSA Guest House into confidence to avoid exposing the plot that may put him under close monitoring. It was not surprising why he decided to go solo to actualize his plan. He had his way. Zakari Mijinyawa, spokesperson of the NSA, had said that preliminary investigation shows that Anjarwalla, the British-Pakistani citizen had fled Nigeria using ‘’smuggled Kenyan passport’’, as his British passport has been confiscated by the Nigerian Authorities.
Riadu who may not have found the action of the security personnel detailed to watch over the Binance top Executives funny as the information about his escape from Nigeria was said to have filtered out to the ears of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that he was said to have ordered their arrest and detention a a deterrence to others who might want to compromise their position in the future.
Mijinyawa, spokesperson of the NSA who, had confirmed that the arrested security personnel responsible for the custody of the two Binance top Executives are currently undergoing thorough investigation’’ to unravel the circumstances that led to Anjarwalla, the British –Pakistanian citizen escape from Nigeria, had disclosed that the office is working closely with the Interpol to facilitate the re-arrest of the runaway Binance top Executivin any part of the global crypto currency exchange market.
Recall that the two Binance top officials who were said to have been invited by the Nigerian government for discussions on how to save the depreciating value of the naira in the country’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, AFEM and the Parallel, popular, Black market, may have been arrested on the orders of the NSA, over the crypto currency exchange platform alleged involvement’’ in the nation’s Foreign Exchange Manipulations’’.
Olayemi Michael Cardoso, a former Commissioner of Economic Planning and Budget in Lagos state during Tinubu’s Administration as governor of the south western state and now governor of Central Bank of Nigeria , CBN, may have exposed Binance when he disclosed that ‘’billions of US dollars had passed through the Crypto currency platform channel from unidentified sources’’.
The CBN governor, was emphatic that in the last one year alone, US $26 billion had passed through the Binance Crypto currency Exchange platform in Nigeria from sources and users who cannot adequately be identified. The Nigerian government had said that unscrupulous elements were using the Binance Crypto currency Holdings Limited channel ‘’ for money Laundering, terrorism financing, currency speculation and market manipulation’’, thus ‘’distorting Nigerian economy and weakening the naira against other world major currencies , particular, the US dollar, mostly used in international transactions.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who incidentally was a former governor of Borno, described as a home for the Islamic Fundamentalists Group, BokoHaram and the Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP, may have gladdened the heart of Nigerians when he gave a recent update on the value of the naira to other world major currencies, stressing that ‘the worst is over for Nigeria’s currency crisis’’.
The Nigerian Vice President who spoke at the Launch of the National Design and Innovation Competition at the FCT, had said that ‘’the naira would continue to stabilize in the coming weeks and months’’ as the Tinubu’s Administration takes some bold initiatives to tackle food and insecurity challenges across the country.The naira, according to the former Borno state governor, which currently exchanged at N1,396.00 to the US dollar at AFEM and N1,470.00 at the Parallel market would definitely stabilize.
President Tinubu, who could not hide his feelings had said that the Cardoso, the CBN governor and his Management team and the Monetary Policy Committee, ‘’deserve the Commendation of Nigerians’’ for the prompt and determined policy geared to addressing the supply and demand sides of the country’s foreign exchange market.
Another major move that was said to have been initiated by the government I the recent time to further stabilize the naira in both the official and unofficial foreign exchange market, the former Borno state governor had said was the planned inclusion of young Nigerian innovators in the US, $17. Million investments in digital and creative enterprise s programme by the Tinubu’s Administration.
The Vice President who would want Nigerians to put behind them the experience suffered in the hands of Binance Holdings Limited, over the last seven years and accused by the NSA of offering services to the subscribers in Nigeria without registering with the Federal Inland Revenue Services, FIRS,headed Zack Aded byeji, in order to pay all the relevant taxes administered by the service had made it clear to those that cares to listen that the naira will eventuallystabilize.
He has reason. This is because the Nigeria forex market is gradually gaining back the investors confidence going by the February $2.3 billion foreign portfolio that was said to have been recorded, purchases of naira assets which stood at $1 billion and oversea remittances that went up greatly, including the oversubscription of the Federal government Bond, that had created more liquidity and increased market supply of the country’s forex.
Despite detaining the two Binace top executives in an NSA operated guest house to force them to, since February compromise on the company’s business policy, since 26, 2024, the NSA, may have set the stage for their release them if they could oblige the government’s request to provide the Nigeria data on its operations in the past seven years or risk being sent packing from Nigeria.
The arrested Binance two top Executives were said to have declined a request to provide the Nigerian Government with data on its operas in the country or delete all Nigerian information from their platform , insisting that that they would not do it until they are taken back to their countries Embassies.
The Nigerian government may have concluded plans to checkmate Financial institutions dealing in cryptocurrency exchange or facilitating payments for crypto currency exchanges over money laundering, terrorism financing , cybercrime and volatility of crypto currencies to ban Binance operations in the country as obtained in the US, United Kingdom, UK, Japan, Italy and Canada.
Other countries where Binance Crypto currency operations were said to have been restricted or banned include Belgium, Australia, India, Netherlands, Thailand, Philippines, Germany, France and Bangladesh. This is in addition to Iran, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and the Asian country of China.
Given an insider information on the situation of things with Binance Nigeria, Cardoso, the CBN, governor had said that the apex Bank has continued to share information with the Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, and other Nigerian Government agencies including EFCC.
He had said that’’ it is not the responsibility of the CBN, to regulate Binance and other Crypto currency Exchange platforms operation in Nigeria but that of SEC’’, noting that the issue of the detained Binance top Executives has nothing to do with the Bank as well but the office of the NSA, who is following up the matter to its logical conclusion.
