The growing anger over the cash crisis resulting from the Central Bank of Nigeria currency redesign policy boiled over on Wednesday as protesting customers torched banks and destroyed Automated Teller Machines in Edo and Delta states.
The violence, which paralysed social and economic activities in the two states, also claimed three lives while many others were injured during the riot.
The protests equally spread to Oyo, Ondo, Benue and Kwara states as residents vented their anger over the scarcity of cash which had made life unbearable for many Nigerians.
Trouble started in Benin, the Edo State capital after the bank customers besieged the state branch of the CBN at 9, Akpapakva Road to lodge their old naira notes around 8 am.
Findings indicated that the people were calm as they waited at the gate for the officials to attend to them.
However, at some minutes to 10 am, a Hilux van carrying some officials attempted to enter the premises but the people stopped it in the belief that it was there to convey new naira notes.
The police officers guarding the office appealed to the people to allow the vehicle to access the premises but they were adamant and attempted to invade the premises.
The restive bank customers threw stones and sticks at the vehicle and in an attempt to disperse the crowd, the police mistakenly shot a male customer dead, further inflaming the protesters.
At 11.45 am, our correspondent also observed two corpses, one in Upper Sakponba and the other in Uselu, but the circumstances of their death were not clear.
However, the development led to an all-out offensive from the protesters who attacked nearly all the banks along the Akpkakpkava Road.
They also stormed the Sterling Bank, UBA, GTB, Access, Zenith, Stanbic IBTC and others destroying their ATMs and buildings with stones.
The rioters later took over the Ring Road and were throwing stones at anything in sight.
Banks attacked
At Upper Sakponba, they attacked the UBA and destroyed a part of the bank as the workers fled the premises.
The Third Junction was also blocked while motorists and a police team were prevented from accessing the Upper Sakponba area.
To restore peace and order in the metropolis, soldiers and policemen were quickly dispatched to the crisis zones and the custodial centre to prevent a jailbreak.
Also, members of the Edo State Security Network and vigilantes paraded the street, dismantling the roadblocks set up by the protesters in different parts of the city.
In Warri, Delta State, youths protesting the rejection of the old naira notes razed several vehicles parked in front of First Bank Plc, Access Bank and Union Bank branches located in the Orovwohworun area of the Udu.
As early as 9 am, the bank customers started arriving in the area which became crowded within a short time.
But they grew restive after waiting for some time without being attended to by the bank officials.
They became uncontrollable and set fire to vehicles parked in front of the banks.
No fewer than four vehicles were razed by the protesters in and around the Udu Express Junction and Ovwian area of Udu.
The PUNCH gathered that the protesters, who comprised mainly tricycle and motorcycle commercial operators, similarly attacked the ATM points before setting the banking halls on fire.
The mob blocked a section of the road before torching Access Bank and other banks.
One of the protesters who did not disclose his identity said, “We are hungry and we are in a cash dilemma. No new naira notes and they are rejecting the old ones. People cannot eat, do business, we are hungry and people are dying and they are still saying politics.”
Also, a fuel station in the area was set on fire for rejecting the old notes.
There was tension following heavy gunshots fired by soldiers and policemen drafted to protect banks in Udu, Effurun and Warri.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the Delta State Command, Bright Edafe could not be reached for comment on the incident as of the time of filing this report.
Oyo protesters
In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, as early as 7 am, protesters started barricading the major roads to protest the naira and fuel crises in the state.
They also blocked the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, grounding vehicular movements and commercial activities.
Our correspondent observed that the youth mounted roadblocks at the Iwo Road, Agodi Gate axis, Challenge, Olorunsogo, and Academy areas.
Other areas that were locked down included the state secretariat, Poly Road, Sango, Mokola, Dugbe, Orita Challenge, Beere, Total Garden, Bodija Oju’rin, Eleyele, Ologuneru, Gbopa and Apete, all within Ibadan North, Ibadan North West and Ido Local Government Areas of the state.
The PUNCH reports that a similar protest which rocked the city on February 3, was hijacked by suspected miscreants who set ablaze a police station and stole the station’s plasma television set.
They vandalised a branch of Wema Bank in the area and looted some roadside shops.
Banks, public and private schools, shops and companies hurriedly shut down for fear of being attacked.
A protester stated, “I have never experienced this kind of frustration in my life, and I want to believe that the people in government are doing this intentionally. They have their target. They wanted to add to our suffering so that we will not come out during the election, but they have failed.’’
Motorists expressed worries over the development. Mr Dapo Adedeji said he was on his way to Lagos from Osogbo when he met the youth on the Iwo Road and they asked him to turn back.
He said, “I first met them at Iwo road, and they sent me back so I followed other vehicles to Old Ife road. Luckily, I was able to get to this place (Olorunsogo) but these guys are radicals because they were carrying sticks and almost broke my windscreen but I quickly reversed.’’
“This is getting serious and the government should do something. The last time I experienced this kind of thing was during the EndSARS (protests). They shouldn’t allow things to get to that level again,” he added.
Similarly, Ayorinde Taiwo said he had been waiting for the roadblocks to be removed from the road for over three hours.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress in the state has accused the state Governor, Seyi Makinde, and the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party of masterminding the protest.
A statement by the APC Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, on Wednesday, said, “There are all indications that the pockets of protest being witnessed in some major parts of Ibadan were coordinated and sponsored by the PDP government in the state with a view to frustrating the presidential rally of APC which was moved from Tuesday last week and rescheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) as it became imperative for us to act in the mood of the nation.’’
Ondo protesters
Scores of commercial motorcyclists took to the streets of Akure, the Ondo State capital and some other towns in the state in protest against the scarcity of the new naira notes and rejection of the old currencies by commercial banks.
The protesters barricaded the Oba Adesida Road at the popular First Bank Roundabout Alagbaka area, chanting various solidarity songs and causing traffic logjam for hours.
Panicked by the gathering, which was less than 500 metres from the Akure branch of the CBN, the banks in the area swiftly shut their doors.
In Owo town, youths and market women also staged a protest, blocking all the major roads and halting vehicular movements.
They also visited the palace of the Olowo to present their grievances to the traditional ruler.
The Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye, appealed to them to be peaceful and avoid any action that could cause a breakdown of law and order in the ancient community.
The monarch said, “This is, no doubt, a trying period in the life of the people of Nigeria and I want to appeal to you not to do anything that will break the law and disrupt the peace of the town.”
Like their counterparts in other locations, youths of Otukpo town in Benue State thronged the federal highway along Otukpo/Enugu roundabout to protest the scarcity of fuel and new naira notes.
They blocked the highway with bonfires, leaving many commuters stranded for several hours.
The police spokesperson in the state, Catherine Anene, could not be reached for comment but police sources said the youth were later dispersed.
Similarly, there was a riot in Ilorin, Kwara State on Wednesday following the rejection of old naira notes by traders and commercial vehicle operators.
The protests started from the Oko-Olowo market axis and spread to Oloje, Alore, Omoda and Adangba, Gambari, Gama, Offa motor park, Kilanko, Geri Alimi, Yakuba and Kwara Polytechnic axis of the Ilorin metropolis.
Motorists deserted the roads as disused tyres were set on fire while commuters were stranded.
Trouble started at the Oko-Olowo market at 10 am on the outskirts of the state capital after a disagreement over the rejection of the old naira notes.
Also at Yakuba/Kwara Polytechnic/University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, three taxi cabs were vandalised while no fewer than five tricycles were damaged following a brawl between the commercial vehicle operators and some youths over the rejection of the old notes by the drivers.
The situation was, however, brought under control by the state police command which drafted its men to the various flashpoints.
The state police command confirmed the arrest of five persons.
A statement by the Kwara State Command spokesman, Okasanmi Ajayi, said the Commissioner of Police in the state, Paul Odama, had ordered aggressive motorised and foot patrols of the metropolis.
In his reaction, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu- Gambari, expressed worry about the current situation and called for calm and perseverance.
“I have said on several occasions that the Ilorin Emirate is known for harmony, let us resist all forms of temptations. Governments at all levels are working assiduously towards ensuring that the hardship is curtailed. Let us remain peaceful and together, we shall overcome this hard time,” the Chairman of the Kwara state traditional council appealed.
The state governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, urged the people to remain calm, saying, “we’re in this together.”
In Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the police fired several tear gas canisters to disperse the hundreds of depositors who thronged the CBN branch located along Udo Udoma Avenue, to lodge their old naira notes.
The incident caused a stampede as the bank customers fled to escape the toxic smoke.
Justifying the police action, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Odiko Macedon, explained that the policemen were deployed at the scene when the crowd was becoming riotous.
He said “Today (Wednesday), there was a large crowd in the CBN vicinity and the crowd was becoming rowdy and it was almost becoming riotous. So, the police as an agency saddled with the responsibility of maintaining law and order cannot fold their arms and allow a breakdown of law and order.
“So, the Commissioner of Police, Olatoye Durusinmi, in his wisdom, deployed officers and men to restore law and order, and that is exactly what happened. Nobody was harassed, or molested; nothing untoward happened.”
The development came even as thousands of commuters were stranded following the rejection of the old naira notes by transporters operating in the state capital.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has said its February 8 order restraining the Federal Government and its agencies from enforcing the February 10 deadline for the use of old N200, N500 and N1000 naira notes still subsists.
The court made the clarification on Wednesday following a complaint by the counsel to Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, SAN, that the Federal Government and its agencies had failed to comply with the order and had allegedly directed the rejection of the old notes.
Mustapha said the plaintiffs had filed a notice of non-compliance with the order of the court made on February 8 and demanded that the apex court took action against the respondent to protect the dignity of the court.
The court had, in its ruling, granted the prayer of the plaintiffs barring the FG from implementing its demonetisation policy and ending the cash swap policy on February 10 pending the hearing and determination of the plaintiffs/applicants’ motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
But addressing the court during Wednesday proceedings, Mustapha said, “That order has been flouted by the government. We are talking of executive lawlessness here. We have filed an affidavit to that effect; we want the court to renew the order for parties to be properly guided.”
After listening to Mustapha’s complaint, Justice John Okoro, who presided over a seven-member panel of the court, asked him to file a proper application to put forward his complaints and to enable the respondent to respond appropriately.
Okoro said there was no need for a renewal of the court’s order.
He noted that since the order made by the court on February 8 was made pending the determination of the motion for injunction filed by the plaintiff, the order still subsisted since the motion had yet to be heard.
Justice Amina Augie, a member of the seven-member panel, told Mustapha that his application concerning noncompliance with the apex court order was not ripe for hearing.
“We cannot take your application (concerning the refusal of the defendant to comply with the order) because it is not before us. The defendant needs to respond to it,” Augie said.
Reacting to Mustapha’s concerns, another member of the panel, Emmanuel Agim, asked if the Supreme Court order does not subsist pending the determination of the substantive suit.
“Go back to the order that was made and check if it does not subsist,” he advised.
The Supreme Court subsequently fixed February 22 for a hearing of the suit filed by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states challenging the propriety of the naira swap policy of the Federal Government.
The court chose the date after joining the Attorneys General of Katsina, Lagos, Cross River, Ondo, Ogun and Ekiti states as co-plaintiffs in the earlier suit filed by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states.
The court also joined the Attorneys General of Edo and Bayelsa states as co-respondents. Both states elected to side with the Attorney General of the Federation originally listed as the sole respondent.
The court ordered that the suits filed separately by Nasarawa, Rivers and Kano states on the same issue be consolidated with the ones filed by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states.
The court ordered parties to file all necessary documents before the hearing set for next Wednesday.
Okoro, before adjourning, told the lawyer to the AGF, Kanu Agabi, SAN, to advise his client to ensure the availability of the new notes for Nigerians.
“Tell your client to let people have money. If they go to the ATM, the plaintiffs will come and withdraw the case. Make money available to the poor masses. You should know that a hungry man is an angry man. I say no more,” he said.
Responding, Agabi said, “Many people don’t have money. They blame it on the Federal Government and the AGF. I don’t have money too. Things have been bad for a long. It is not today that the problems started.”
Governors Nasir El-Rufai and Yahaya Bello of Kaduna and Kogi states were in court to witness proceedings.
Speaking after the court proceedings, Bello said the states were not at war with the FG over its cashless policy but were only concerned about its negative impact on the citizens.
In a related development, the Rivers State Government said it had filed a separate suit against the FG on the implementation of the currency swap policy.
The State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Chris Finebone, disclosed this to our correspondent on Wednesday.
Finebone explained that the state decided to file a separate suit, rather than join other states that were already in court for a number of reasons.
He stated, “We refused to join. We have filed our own case. When you have a case and a case you should join, there are factors you consider.
“You will consider factors of others who are joining and those who are defending. You will also judge the substantive matter, the way it was filed and everything to be sure that there are no loopholes.
“If you consider that there are flaws, for example, just saying, you may decide to file yours if you think you will do better with your own.
“So there are many reasons the Rivers State Government decided to file its own, instead of joining.”
In the meantime, Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has called on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to order the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to reverse the controversial new naira design policy.
Akeredolu decried the alleged non-obedience of the CBN to the court order on the old notes’ deadline extension, noting that both the new and old notes should be allowed to co-exist.
The governor stated this on Tuesday evening while receiving members of the Youth Directorate of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, led by Seyi Tinubu, the son of the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
According to him, the timing of the new naira policy was wrong, arguing that the problem created by the naira and fuel scarcity had affected the rating of the APC ahead of the general elections.
He said, ”We have a problem we are facing in this country today. Our rating as a party is not that favourable. Let’s not deceive ourselves. Must it be now that we will have this financial policy?
“How? Fuel and everything? Things are not easy. This policy is not right at this time. It should be reversed. Reserve it and tell CBN that we are reversing it. Let old and new notes co-exist.
“Okada, taxis, banks are not taking old notes again. There is an injunction and everyone is behaving like there is no injunction. We have said that this man (CBN Governor) should be removed when he contested to be President. The man is not fit for that position. A man who attempted to be President will frustrate us at this time.”
But the President, Wednesday morning, met with the APC standard bearer, Tinubu, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to senior Presidency sources, the meeting which was held at Buhari’s official residence explained his 40-minute lateness to the Federal Executive Council meeting.
The PUNCH reported that Buhari arrived at the Council Chambers at around 10:40 am, about an hour after the usual time of 10:00 am.
Sources explained that Buhari’s delay was also informed by his decision to monitor the outcome of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the CBN naira policy.
There are indications that the Lagos State Government may prosecute anyone found culpable of rejecting the old naira notes in the state.
This indication was made known in a release by the state government on Wednesday.
The state government cautioned those rejecting the old notes to put an end to their actions, noting that those who failed to heed the directives might face prosecution.
The statement partly read, “The Lagos State Government wishes to put on record the patience and calmness of Lagosians following the controversy generated by the Naira shortage crisis.
“The state government has joined the dispute at the Supreme Court, which today adjourned the hearing of the matter till February 22. When the matter first came up on February 8, the apex court said the old notes remained legal tender.
“That position has not changed. The state government hereby warns those rejecting the old notes to desist from doing so or face prosecution. It is against the law to reject the old notes as doing so is contrary to the position of the Supreme Court.”
The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission said its operatives had arrested five fuel station managers, allegedly selling fuel above government-regulated price.
The acting Chairman of the commission, Balarabe Mahmoud, made this known at a news briefing on Wednesday.
He said over the past week, the commission had been receiving formal complaints from members of the public concerning the issue of the redesign of the naira note and fuel scarcity that continued to linger.
He said operators of the commission found out that some filling stations sold fuel above government-approved price while some adjusted their litre to extort unsuspecting customers, by selling the product at high prices.
Balarabe lamented the attitude of some filling stations for rejecting the old naira noted despite the supreme court order.
“We went out to monitor the activities of such filling stations. We all know of the Supreme Court order which was earlier slated today to determine the deadline, but it further extended the deadline to 22nd March 2023 to determine the deadline of the old naira notes.
“People should continue to use the old naira notes as legal tender in line with the order of the Supreme Court. We discovered that some filling stations are conniving with PoS operators to extort customers,’’ he explained.
The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Wednesday, threatened that he might consider getting security agencies to arrest anyone who refused to accept old naira notes in the state.
Abiodun said the state government would clamp down on banks and businesses rejecting the old naira notes.
He said the directive became imperative after an on-the-spot assessment of business transactions at some filling stations in Ijebu-Ode
Meanwhile, PoS operators in Kebbi State have complained about the difficulty depositing their old notes at the state headquarters of the central bank.
The Chairman, AMMBAN Kebbi, Jemilu Musa, who spoke to The PUNCH on Wednesday, said the online link provided could not generate reference numbers for over 20 members who tried to fill out the forms.
He said, “We got to the CBN headquarters at 7 am and up till now, we have not been able to deposit our old notes. They asked us to fill out a form uploaded on the CBN portal which we did, the link is showing an error connection. We are here stranded with our old notes.
“Nobody is attending to us. We were only given a link to fill in. We don’t even know our fate whether they will collect the old notes or not. We are still with our old notes, the link is not accessible and I was unable to generate the reference number. Over 20 of us tried it and it has the same error message.”
Customers in FCT
In Abuja, angry cash depositors prevented movement in and out of the CBN office in Garki, Abuja, on Wednesday.
The customers, who visited the CBN office to deposit their old naira notes as directed by the apex bank, prevented staff and visitors from accessing the building in anger over the long process of depositing the old notes.
Angered by the development, the customers were said to have blocked the entrance to the apex bank’s office for hours, preventing access to the building.
A customer said, “We had been waiting here for hours without achieving anything. They said we should write names, we did but still nothing. The portal is malfunctioning. No one came out to give us a form to fill. People came from as far as Suleja hoping to deposit cash and return home. This is double ‘wahala’. You stress to deposit old notes, you stress to get new notes.”
It was gathered that police officers from the FCT Police Command were called in to calm the depositors.
