Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has ordered the freezing of bank accounts belonging to #endsars promoters in a new wave of a series of government’s clamp down, multiple sources have reported.
Victims say they were informed by their banks that new directives from the CBN instructed the tracking and freezing of accounts linked to promoters of the protests.
Targeted accounts were tracked by transactions narration and a ‘Post No Debit’ restriction placed on them.
Bank transactions that included the narration #EndSARS or End SARS were immediately flagged while such accounts receiving funds were frozen.
One of the victims of the new clampdown directive, Bassey Israel told the Punch Newspapers his account with Access bank was frozen since October 15 for receiving funds to provide medical aids for protesters in Port Harcourt.
He said, “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.
“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.”
When asked if others had similar problems, Israel said, “I know many persons that have this same challenge.”
Israel said the money in the frozen account was a substantial sum.
EndSARS Organizer Prevented from Travelling Abroad, Passport Seized
A founding member of #EndSARS Legal Aide and member of the Feminist Coalition – foremost promoter of the protest, Modupe Odele, was prevented from travelling abroad on Sunday.
The Feminist Coalition is a frontline promoter of the #EndSARS protest, which raised about N147 million for the cause.
She said the officer who accosted her, said the action was ordered “from above”, adding that she saw a “wanted poster” of herself on the officer’s computer.
The lawyer, who disclosed that she was detained and had her passport seized, said: “For my birthday, I had planned a trip to the Maldives. It was really for a break as the events of the last three weeks have exhausted my mind and body in a way I have never been exhausted in my life.
“I went to the airport, passed through immigration, and while I was putting my bags through the body and baggage scanner, the immigration officer who had previously cleared me, called me back. He told me he had orders from above to detain me.”
MODUPE ODELE
Also in a Twitter post yesterday, Odele said she was safe, adding that she had been invited back with her lawyers.
Reacting yesterday, the Federal Government denied putting names of #EndSARS protesters on a no-fly list. A no-fly list is a register of people banned from boarding commercial aircraft for travel within, into, or out of a country.
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