Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, arrested an unconfirmed number of suspects after raiding the offices of black market currency dealers in Abuja.
It was gathered that the armed EFCC officials stormed the Sheraton Hotel area of Abuja on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, to arrest some Bureaux De Change operators.
According to PUNCH, an eyewitness noted that the arrested suspects were dragged into waiting vehicles, as pedestrians trudged the scene.
Recall that the naira had depreciated further against the dollar at the parallel market as it exchanged for N880 per dollar as of Monday, October 31.
This follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s announcement that the proposed newly-redesigned naira notes would be in circulation from December 15, 2022.
The Spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, when contacted said, “I will check and get back to you.”
Meanwhile, the commission expresses concern about the rising spate of cyber-attacks on banks and the reluctance of the institutions to report such breaches to law enforcement.
While warning that such reticence would only embolden the criminals, the EFCC appeals to financial institutions to collaborate with it to secure the financial sector from threats of cyber-attacks.
The EFCC had in the wake of the recent announcement by the Central Bank Nigeria of plans to redesign and re-issue higher denominations of the naira, warned Bureau de Change operators to be wary of currency hoarders who would attempt to seize the opportunity to offload the currencies they had illegally stashed away.