Naira Scarcity: Two Bank Officials In Osogbo, Abuja Arrested

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has arrested officials of two commercial banks in Abuja and Osun State for alleged sabotage as the scarcity of new naira notes lingers.

A statement by the ICPC spokesperson, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, said the arrests were in continuation of its clampdown on elements frustrating efforts to make the redesigned naira notes available to members of the public.

Ogugua said an Abuja-based bank official was taken into custody for her “deliberate refusal” to upload cash into her branch’s automated teller machines (ATMs), though the cash was said to have been available and people were queuing at the ATMs.

Findings by the ICPC operatives further indicated that the branch either willfully or maliciously refused to feed the ATMs with the cash.

“Against this backdrop, the ICPC team compelled the bank to load the ATMs with the redesigned Naira notes and ensured that they were all dispensing before arresting the culprit,” the statement reads in part.

“Investigations are still ongoing, and the Commission will take appropriate actions as soon they are concluded.”

In a related development, the ICPC Compliance Team in Oshogbo busted a bank in Osogbo, Osun State where some ATMs were loaded with cash with their wrappers unremoved, preventing the cash from being dispensed.

The team therefore directed that the wrappers be removed, and the cash loaded properly. The Operation Manager of the bank was arrested and taken in for questioning.