The office of the National Security Adviser said on Monday that security personnel who allowed Binance official Nadeem Anjarwalla’s escape have been arrested as it is working with Interpol to rearrest him.
“The personnel responsible for the custody of the suspect have been arrested, and a thorough investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to his escape from lawful detention,” the NSA office spokesperson Zakari U. Mijinyawa said in a statement on Monday.
Mr Anjarwalla’s escape from custody comes as another episode since he and his colleague, Tigran Gambaryan, were arrested and kept in detention by the Nigerian government on February 26.
“Preliminary investigation shows that Mr Anjarwalla fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport,” the office said shortly after Premium Times’ report on his escape.
It added, “Security agencies are working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on the suspect.”
The NSA’s office urged Nigerians and the international community to share any information to assist law enforcement agencies in apprehending Mr Anjarwalla.
According to Nigerian authorities, Mr Anjarwalla was scheduled to appear before the court again on April 4, 2024.
In a statement on Monday, Binance said it had been informed that Mr Anjarwalla was “no longer” in Nigeria’s detention and expressed concern over the safety of its employees.
The clampdown on Binance and other platforms comes as part of efforts by the Tinubu-led government to save the declining Nigerian naira, which traded for about N2000 to a dollar three weeks ago.
The naira now trades for N14,00 to a dollar, weeks after Binance officials were arrested and detained on claims that the platform aided currency speculators and sabotaged the Nigerian economy.
Peoples Gazette reported that the Tinubu-led government demanded that the cryptocurrency platform furnish it with a list of top Nigerian Binance users and their transaction details to release their officials held hostage.
Last week Monday, the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court ordered Binance Holdings Limited to provide the EFCC with comprehensive information on all persons from Nigeria trading on its platform.
Binance exited the Nigerian market and discontinued every naira-related transaction on its platform since Nigerian authorities clamped down on it.