DSS Arrests, Interrogates CBN Deputy Governor Aisha Ahmad

The Department of State Services, DSS has arrested and detained the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in charge of Financial System Stability, in connection to Titan Trust Bank’s (TTB) acquisition of Union Bank.

Aishah Ahmad is currently being questioned about how Titan Trust Bank got $300 million to complete the acquisition of Union Bank.

Titan Bank is Nigeria’s newest bank that acquired Union Bank in December 2021 after core investors sold a majority stake, which totalled 89.39 per cent.

Ahmad was appointed Deputy CBN governor on 6 October 2017, replacing Sarah Alade, who retired in March 2017. She was confirmed by the Nigerian Senate on 22 March 2018.

In December 2022, the Peoples Gazette claimed that Ahmad helped facilitate the sale of Polaris Bank at a favorable price in order to be considered for the position of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The CBN denied these allegations and asserted that the sale of Polaris Bank was an institutional decision supervised by a committee of senior representatives of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and the CBN.

Related: DSS Arrests CBN Deputy Governor In Charge Of Economic Policy, Kingsley Obiora

The divestment was also coordinated with outside legal and financial advisers and approved by the leadership and boards of Polaris Bank and the purchaser, Strategic Capital Investment Limited.

The CBN stated that no other party made a higher purchase offer as alleged by the Peoples Gazette.