At Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday arrested the operations manager of an unnamed commercial bank branch in Abuja for allegedly hoarding N29 million in new naira notes.
EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said the bank refused to open its Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) despite having N29 million in redesigned Naira notes in the branch vault.
The commission said that the official of the bank, whose name was also not given, was detained for further investigation. He said the operatives also ordered the bank to open money in ATMs and make payments to customers over the counter.
The EFCC described the incident as sabotage of the government’s monetary policy by some banks.
“Before they were sent away for further questioning, the operators ordered them to fill all the ATMs and pay the fixed amount at the counter to appease the bewildered customers who had been waiting in line for hours without getting any new notes.
“This discovery, which shows the sabotage of the government’s monetary policy by some banks, was made by the EFCC as a continuation of its surveillance and visits to banks across the country to access the vaults and verify that they have not deliberately refused to give a redesign. Naira notes. More than five branches bank was covered today by operatives in Abuja. Similar exercise is being conducted in Zonal Commands across the country,” the commission said.
The arrests came two days after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offenses Commission (ICPC) said it arrested two Osun State bank officials, for refusing to open ATMs with cash.
The EFCC also in its statement, vowed to continue operations “until normality is restored to the banking system.
“Nigerians find it difficult to access their funds in any bank and those who suspect an offense should contact the commission, for immediate intervention.”
The background
In the past few weeks, Nigerians have been rushing to meet the CBN deadline to scrap the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.
The new policy has created chaos as many Nigerians have to endure long queues at Automated Teller Machines (ATM) points. Others also have to pay exorbitant fees for withdrawals through Point of Sale (POS) centers.
Also read: Court orders CBN to keep February 10 date for old naira notes
As a result of the ongoing hardship experienced by many Nigerians, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefile, has extended the previous deadline of January 31, by 10 days to February 10.
On Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari also called on citizens to give themselves seven days to resolve the cash crisis that has become a problem across the country from the CBN’s policy of replacing high Naira notes with new ones.
He said this after the All Progressives Congress (APC) governor visited him at the Presidential Villa to seek solutions to the cash crisis that has left many Nigerians in distress.
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