One person was reportedly shot following a riot on Tuesday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital over the scarcity of the new Naira notes.
The Naira crisis sparked violent protests in parts of the country on Tuesday as most bank branches hurriedly shut down operations.
A First Bank branch was torched in Ogun State during the protest in which a man was said to have been shot.
Some areas of Abeokuta also witnessed some protests by angry residents as they lament the hardship the situation has subjected them to.
The crisis was said to have commenced at a branch of GTBank in the Asero area of Abeokuta, where customers had queued since 4 am but could not withdraw cash.
The protesters were said to have attempted the attack on the bank but they were repelled by the police following a prompt intervention.
In Ondo State, residents marched on the Benin/Ore Expressway, causing a gridlock that left many travelers stranded.
The biting cash crunch was worsened by the rejection of online and Point of Sale (PoS) payments by businesses, especially petrol stations and transport companies.
In Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, some transport companies insisted only on cash payments. Many had no PoS machines or refused to use them or accept transfers.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, called for calm, saying the authorities were bringing the situation under control.
He identified the affected areas as Panseke, Sapon, and Asero, adding that the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, has put all the Area Commanders on red alert as a result of the protest.
The Police spokesman said the deployment of operatives to the flash points is necessary to prevent hoodlums from looting people’s properties.
Oyeyemi said the state Police Command has not received any report of death yet.
A viral clip showed a man soaked in blood who appeared to have been shot.
He walked gingerly as he attempted to jump over a drained but lost his footing as friends dragged him out.
Some security operatives were caught up in the demonstration in front of the GTbank branch at Asero.
Other banks and schools in the metropolis hurriedly closed.
The Edo protesters, who bore placards and banners bearing anti-CBN inscriptions and chanting anti-government songs, said they would continue with the peaceful march until the needful was done.
One of the leaders of EDOCSO, Comrade Omobude Agho, called on the CBN to quickly make the new naira notes available.
He urged the CBN to start releasing to the banks the N100, N50, and N20 denominations if the higher denominations are not available.
Agho was of the view that the blame lay with CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who came up with an ill-thought-out policy that has caused more hardship to citizens a few weeks before the general elections.
Some banks closed their branch operations as network failure added to the turmoil.
Zenith Bank, which has had hitches with its mobile and internet banking services, left a notice to customers.
“Please, be informed that the branch is not open to customers due to server issues.
“You can make your transactions in any of our branches. We are sorry for the inconvenience,” the bank stated.
An agitated customer of the bank said her funded domiciliary account was displaying a zero balance.
The bank’s customers have in the past week faced severe challenges in carrying out transactions due to poor network connectivity.
The failure of digital banking platforms and the scarcity of naira banknotes compounded customers’ woes.
The bank’s internet mobile apps not only stopped working but its connectivity with other banks’ networks were also failing.
Many of the bank’s customers said they were unable to make transfers and even check balances in their accounts.
Aside from Zenith, many customers who use banks’ Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) technology for payment said interbank and intrabank transfers witnessed situations where funds sent do not get to recipients.
A customer said a transfer only got to the recipient three days after she initiated it.
Silas Obinna, a Lagos-based entrepreneur, said digital payments were not meeting the expectations of bank customers.
He said the CBN should insist on minimum investment in digital infrastructure for banks, and monitor to ensure their deployment and seamless operations if the cash-less policy must work.
Aside from the poor network connectivity, many of the banks were also accused of hoarding the redesigned naira notes, making it difficult for the funds to circulate seamlessly.
A CBN official who asked not to be named said: “Oga, this matter is quite serious”.
