Zenith Bank branches in Lagos have shut down over fear of attacks by angry Nigerians due to the ongoing naira scarcity as a result of the naira redesign policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Nigerians have been going through hardships in getting their hands on the new naira notes as the February 10 deadline approaches.
This has led to attacks on some banks in the state, while states like Edo and Oyo have witnessed protests that degenrated into riots.
On Tuesday, Newsbreak Nigeria visited some banks in Lagos State and found out that they had shut down operations due to fear of attacks.
An inside source at Zenith Bank, Allen Branch, told Newsbreak Nigeria that they got a memo instructing them to vacate the office premises because of an inpending attack.
The source, who craved anonymity, said despite the memo received late on Monday, they still went to the bank only to be told to go home for safety reasons.
However, on getting to the bank on Tuesday, the Head of Operations (HOP) had to chase everyone home by 9:30am for security reasons.
The source said, “We were not supposed to go to the bank today because a memo was sent yesterday that all branches should be shut. However, our HOP insisted we all come. On getting there, she became fearful as she had received information that other branches didn’t open. So, she ordered us all to go home.”
Newsbreak Nigeria visited other branches of Zenith Bank on Iju Road, Agidingbi, Jones and Pen Cinema but they were all shut.
This comes a day after the Lagos State Police Command issued a warning that some groups are planning on unleashing violence in the state due to the Naira Scarcity.
Source: newsbreak
