Desperate bank customers strip naked and fight in mass brawls to get to ATMs in chaotic scenes in Nigeria after Government replaced bank notes…but printed too few
NATASHA ANDERSON FOR MAILONLINE
Desperate Nigerians are stripping naked in protest as banks are running out of cash after the Government moved to replace high-denomination notes.
Video shared on Twitter shows how a naked customer demanded to close his bank account – reportedly valued at 520,000 naira – after employees refused to give him more than 20,000N at the counter.
Another man climbed on top of the service counter and stripped after workers apparently fail to provide him with his requested money.
Some firms were forced to close and lock their doors after angry crowds brawled inside. Others even erected tents to protect cash-seeking customers from the sun as they waited in long queues.
The chaos comes as Nigeria battles major cash and fuel shortages just three weeks before the presidential election. Candidates have traded accusations of blame over the shortages with the ruling party hopeful even suggesting his enemies had manufactured the crisis to undermine his election chances.
Nigeria’s Central Bank announced last October that it would be taking the N200, N500 and N1,000 notes out of circulation on January firm.
The Government intended to replace the banknotes with new designs that it claimed would be ‘more secure.’ However the replacements were not immediately available and the switch deadline was extended to next Friday.
Citizens are now unable to withdrawal money from their accounts, making it hard for them to participate in the cash-reliant economy.
Japhet Joshua Babatunde, who is a customer at the FirstBank branch in Ikoyi, said his salary was deposited over a week ago and he still cannot access funds.
‘I’m angry — it’s my own money I came to collect, not a loan,’ he told The Financial Times yesterday.
Another customer claimed to have visited the bank for five consecutive days but still wasn’t able to get any cash.
A security guard at that the Ikoyi FirstBank also revealed that he was ordered to lock customers outside after fights erupted in the bank.
The branch did eventually start dispensing cash from its ATM, but limited customers to 10,000 naira.
Across the nation, crowds have been seen jostling outside ATM machines and banks to try and access scarce cash supplies.
A leading Nigerian lender told the newspaper that many banks did not receive enough supply of the new banknotes to meet customer demand.
The Central Bank has urged citizens ‘to exercise patience’ as the governmental agency works ‘assiduously to address the challenge of queues at ATMs.
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