Public Unrest in Benin City Over Old Naira Notes
Benin City, the capital of Edo State, was swept by demonstrations on Wednesday due to the residents’ inability to use their old naira notes, with banks being the primary targets of the protesters.
The discontent spread from Ekehuan Road to Uselu Shell, Akpakpava, Ring Road, and numerous other city areas. The demonstrators voiced their frustration as commercial bus drivers and traders refused to accept the old naira notes they held, insisting on the new ones.
These protests are a direct response to the Supreme Court’s decision to postpone a hearing on a lawsuit brought by the governments of Kaduna, Zamfara, and Kogi States against the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new naira policy.
The CBN had previously set February 10 as the deadline for the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes to cease being legal tender. However, last week, the Supreme Court issued an interim injunction preventing the Federal Government, CBN, commercial banks, and other related parties from enforcing the deadline.
On Wednesday, February 15, the Supreme Court did not proceed with the case but postponed the hearing until February 22, adding eight other states to the lawsuit.
The news of the adjournment seemed to exacerbate the residents’ existing frustration over the scarcity of the new notes, leading to swift protests across Benin City.
At Uselu Shell, demonstrators vented their anger on a GTBank branch on New Lagos Road, pelting the bank building with stones.
Protests also erupted at Asoro Bus Stop along Ekehuan Road, where demonstrators blocked the roads after commercial bus drivers and traders in the area refused to accept the old naira notes.
A First Bank branch at Ring Road was besieged, with sporadic gunshots heard, although it was unclear who fired the shots, according to The Nigerian Observer. Gunshots were also reported at Oliha.
In many parts of the city, passengers carrying the old naira notes were seen walking long distances to their destinations, while others waited in the hope of finding bus drivers willing to accept the old notes.
In Akpakpava, protesters targeted some banks, and security personnel attached to the CBN at Akpakpava fired gunshots to disperse the protesters.
At the time of this report, it is feared that three people may have lost their lives due to the shooting at the CBN in Benin.
