JUST IN: Naira Further Depreciates Massively As EFCC Arrests Bureau De Change Operators Over Free Fall Of Currency

JUST IN: Naira Further Depreciates Massively As EFCC Arrests Bureau De Change Operators Over Free Fall Of Currency

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday arrested Bureau De Change operators in Enugu city, the Enugu State capital in southeast Nigeria.

An X user and human rights activist, Chude Nnamdi, who made this known in a post on Wednesday evening said the anti-graft agency operatives stormed BDC spots on Owerri Road and Ogui Road in the state capital where they arrested the operators.

“EFCC has just arrested the BDC Mallams along Owerri Road, Enugu, and the BDC operators at Ogui Road Enugu.

“Please can someone explain to me how going after these BDC guys will rescue the dying Naira?” he wrote.

A video posted by Nnamdi shows over 10 of the arrested BDC operators compelled by the security operatives to sit on the ground.

Ibom Focus earlier on Wednesday reported that some Nigerian security operatives went after Bureau De Change operators in the Sabo area of Ibadan in Oyo State.

Sabo in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital in Southwest Nigeria, is the hub of bureaux de change in the state.

The operatives included police and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission personnel.

A video posted by Oyo Affairs on its X handle, on Wednesday, shows tens of armed security personnel and their convoy of vehicles slowly moving on the popular Sabo Road in Ibadan.

President Bola Tinubu’s administration had launched a nationwide clampdown on persons involved in currency racketeering following the free fall of the naira.

Nigeria’s naira on Wednesday dropped to a record low against the dollar on the official market.

Ibom Focus learnt that the naira now exchanged for N1980 to $1 on the parallel market and N1780 on the official market as the swift decline continued amid the government’s clampdown on currency speculators.

Ibom Focus  earlier reported how Nigerian security operatives including EFCC officials on Wednesday raided some Bureau De Change outlets in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and arrested over 100 operators as the country’s currency slipped further.

“The situation (of arresting BDC operators) has not helped either because the official rate has also reached N1780. Naira is still crashing,” a source familiar with the arrest told SaharaReporters.

“Dollar reached N1980 to $1 today, prompting the Nigerian government to raid BDCs in Abuja to arrest over 100 BDC operators.”

On Tuesday, the naira slid with one dollar exchanging for N1,900 in Abuja and Kano, and N1,800 in Lagos; while the British Pound was exchanged for N2,250.

Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency, the EFCC had been raiding BDC hubs in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Lagos and Kano. Some operators were also arrested but it has not stopped the naira from further depreciation.

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu on Tuesday, directed operatives of the police, the EFCC, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to go after forex market speculators as part of measures to stem volatility in the foreign exchange market.

Ribadu, in a statement by Zakari Mijinyawa, Head, Strategic Communications in the Office of the NSA, said the office had to wade in at this time because some individuals and organisations had continued to undermine proactive measures of the Central Bank of Nigeria to stabilise the foreign exchange market and stimulate economic activities.