New President Bola Tinubu announced Emefiele's suspension on Friday with immediate effect following an ongoing investigation of his office and planned reforms in the financial sector.

"The Department of State Services (DSS) hereby confirms that Mr Godwin Emefiele, the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is now in its custody for some investigative reasons," the DSS statement said.

Tinubu criticised Emefiele's handling of the currency and monetary policy at his inauguration last week and called on the central bank to work towards a unified exchange rate.

(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Alex Richardson and Mike Harrison)