The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed commercial banks in the country to place a “Post No Debit” (PNB) order on the bank accounts of some #EndSARS promoters across the country.
The apex bank reportedly ordered the freezing of the accounts as far back as October 15, a week after the protests started.
The affected bank accounts were said to have been identified for sanctions based on their “narration” of transaction, as transactions with the narration “EndSARS” were flagged and the receiving account frozen.
A pharmacist, Bassey Israel, who was in charge of the #EndSARS medical team in Port Harcourt, said the CBN instructed Access Bank to freeze his account.
He told The Punch, “I am in charge of End SARS medical team in Port Harcourt and we had people donating for medical supplies, food, water, ambulance services and these donations were made directly into my account and of course these donations had End SARS descriptions so I think that was how they were able to flag my account. I noticed that on October 15, I was trying to make a debit transaction on my account and noticed that there was a restriction.
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“So, I called the bank and I was told that there was indeed a restriction but I should go to any branch near me and when I did so, the branch manager sent a mail to the branch where I opened the account. The response to the mail was that there was a directive from the CBN to restrict the account.
“The lady was surprised and even asked me if I had any issue with the CBN and I responded that if I had any issue with the CBN, I wouldn’t be in the bank in the first place, I would be on the run. I asked what could be done and she gave me no answer. She had to show me the mail on her computer which I read. It was directly from the CBN and it read, ‘Place this account on PND.”
He noted that many others had similar problems.
Another leading #EndSARS strategist, Feyikemi Abudu confirmed that several persons have also had their accounts frozen.
Acting Spokesman for the CBN, Abdulmumin Isa did not comment on the matter when contacted.
This came amid allegations that the Ministry of Interior, which controls the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), had compiled a “no-fly list” for #EndSARS protesters.
The ministry however denied this allegations, saying no such list existed.
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