In a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO ), Ikenga Tochukwu titled ‘Scarcity of New Naira Notes: Anambra State Police Command Uncovers Plan of Protest’ and made available to journalists on Thursday warned against any form of protests in the state, saying it has uncovered plans of violence in connection with the scarcity of the new naira notes in the state.
Customers had accused banks in the state of hoarding the new naira notes and partnering with point-of-sale (POS ) operators to sell the bank notes to suffering Nigerians in Anambra at an exorbitant price.
Sources had alleged that banks collect N2000 while POS operators collect N5000 from customers who wanted a cash withdrawal of N10 000 only while no fees were said to be charged when withdrawing by ATM where the new naira notes were sadly unavailable, a thing that the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele had warned against.
The police warned ‘mischief makers to desist from it saying police had ensured the optimal deployment of human and operational resources towards guaranteeing safety and security in the state.
“Anambra State Police Command today 8/2/2023 has uncovered plans by some groups of persons to take advantage of the new Naira notes scarcity to unleash violence in some parts of the State.
The Command has described the scarcity as not peculiar to Anambra State alone and noted that the Federal Government is doing everything possible to address the situation.
“The Command hereby warns these groups/persons to shelve their planned violence or have the full weight of the law to contend with. The Police, in conjunction with other security agencies, have embarked on confidence-building patrols and ensure the optimal deployment of human and operational resources towards guaranteeing safety and security in the State.
“The Command, therefore, enjoined Anambrains and residents alike not to panic and urge the law-abiding residents/visitors of the state to go about their lawful duties without any fear of harassment or intimidation. In the event to request security services call us on 07039194332 or PRO 08039334002 for a prompt response. The ‘NPF rescue me app’ is also available for free download on both Android and Apple IOS, for Android and iPhone users respectively”.
