THE ongoing naira crisis is bringing out the ugly side of some Nigerians. Frustrated, angry and hungry, some bank customers are resorting to mob action, attacking banks and bankers, and torching Automated Teller Machines and other facilities. One such rampage in Sagamu, Ogun State, resulted in the destruction of the branches of two deposit money banks, and the subsequent closure of other banks in the town. Police should ensure the arrest and prosecution of the culprits of that outrage and of all such assaults nationwide, and make adequate arrangements to protect banks and from further attacks.

Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, backed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), spread misery throughout the country with a programme to replace the N1,000, N500, and N200 banknotes with redesigned ones under a tight deadline. But it is now crystal clear that the CBN lacks the institutional capacity to print enough new banknotes and make them available to the public in the given time frame.

The result has been more hunger, and the collapse of businesses and means of livelihood as Nigerians cannot get the new banknotes, while the old ones have ceased to be legal tender. This has resulted in frustrated crowds at banks that either do not have the new notes at all, have only a limited amount to dispense, or have diverted them to favoured customers.

Many bank branches, especially in the rural areas, have shut down temporarily;some others open only for a few hours or on alternate days, and ATMs and electronic banking channels have been overwhelmed by the sudden increased traffic.

Riots have broken out. As usual, these protests have often been hijacked by hoodlums, thugs, and the hordes of idle, drug-using urchins. The state commissioners of police should take immediate extra steps to stop the attacks on banks, their personnel and facilities, Usman Baba, the Inspector-General of Police, should give all formation commanders at all levels strict orders to secure the banks.

Reports that the police had apprehended about 30 suspects following the Sagamu mayhem is not enough. After a thorough investigation, those found culpable should be speedily prosecuted. This should be replicated nationwide; police should track down, arrest, and prosecute all those attacking banks and their staff across the country.

For sure, the pain Emefiele is inflicting on Nigerians is severe. This is especially so in a country where 133 million persons, representing over 60 percent of the population, are already adjudged “multidimensionally poor,” where unemployment is rampant, particularly among the youth, and where inflation and hunger are at record levels. Mass anger fuelled by the naira provocation is therefore understandable, and indeed, inevitable.

However, no society subscribing to the rule of law should ever tolerate a resort to mob justice. The attacks reflect a worrying trend among Nigerians to take to ‘jungle justice.’ A report by SBM Intelligence estimated 279 incidents of mob justice across the country from 2019 to mid-2022, resulting in 391 persons being killed.

‘Jungle justice,’ or “justice without trial,” say legal and rights experts, “is when the population (an irate mob) take upon themselves the responsibility of inflicting penalty on an alleged offender/criminal without proving him guilty of the offence.” It is a criminal activity and should be discouraged. It is also the sign of a failing state.

The youths protesting the scarcity of the new naira notes burnt down branches of Union and Keystone banks in Sagamu. They barricaded roads and set bonfires. The Friday before, protesters had similarly barricaded a stretch of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway from Magboro to Mowe. Similar protests were held in Abeokuta, Sango-Ota, Ibadan (Oyo State), Akure (Ondo State), Benin (Edo State), Asaba and Warri (both in Delta State), among others.

Banks and banking facilities have been vandalised and torched. Some lives were lost as security agents moved to quell the riots and prevent them from snowballing into a nationwide bedlam.

The seed was sown in October 2022 when the CBN announced the redesign of the N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes, and the withdrawal from circulation of the old ones. Emefiele said the new notes would be in circulation from December 15, and the oldnotes would cease to be legal tender by January 31.

It cited some desirable reasons, among them, to address inflation, rein in the currency in circulation outside the banks, and tackle money laundering. Emefiele enthused that whereas before the policy, N3.26 trillion was in circulation of which only N500 billion or 15.29 percent was in the formal banking system, this had risen to N1.9 trillion in bank vaults by the end of January. He insisted that the withdrawal of the old notes would ultimately reduce inflation, as supply and demand of cash would be more easily regulated. The currency change also aims to disrupt the growing kidnapping-for-ransom industry.

However, following criticism of the tight deadline, the CBN said the old notes would remain in circulation till February 10.And following opposition by somestate governors and counsel by the National Council of States, Buhari approved that only the old N200 be allowed to circulate till April 10. Court orders and counter-directives by some state governors have not helped, as the notes remain scarce, and queues persist at ATM points and banks.Customers’ frustration is deepened by the unreliability of electronic channels.

The Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions estimated that the banks collectively lost N5 billion following the attacks on banks.ASSBIFI President, Oluwole Olusoji, listed17 commercial banks nationwide whose assets and premises had been attacked.

It is barbaric to attack bankers and vandalise banks, an unacceptable display of misplaced aggression.Nigerians have the right, indeed a duty, to protest bad government policies, but attacking private or public property is not a legitimate form of protest. The police should use this as an opportunity to crack down hard on mob justice. The vandals and arsonists should not go unpunished. Buhari and Emefiele should end Nigerians’ agony, extend the deadline and restrategise.

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