An employee of the Stanbic IBTC Bank has been detained in Abuja by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) on suspicion of sabotage.
Azuka Ogugua, the ICPC spokesperson, stated that the move was a continuation of the ICPC’s crackdown on factors impeding attempts to make the new Naira notes available to the general population.
The bank employee was arrested for purposefully refusing to upload cash into the branch’s Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), even when there was a line of people waiting to use the ATMs at the Deidei Branch of Stanbic IBTC.
The statement reads: “When the ICPC monitoring team stormed the bank at about 1:30 pm on Friday to ensure compliance and demanded an explanation as to why all the ATMs were not dispensing cash, the team was informed by the branch’s head of operations that the bank just got delivery of the cash.
“However, facts available to the ICPC operatives indicated that the branch took delivery of the cash earlier around 11:58 am, and either willfully or maliciously refused to feed the ATMs with the cash.
“Against this backdrop, the ICPC team compelled the bank to load the ATMs with the redesigned Naira notes and ensured that they were all dispensing before arresting the culprit.
“The ICPC said investigations were still ongoing and the Commission will take appropriate actions as soon they are concluded.
“Similarly, seven Point of Sale (PoS) operators as well as a security guard were arrested during an ongoing exercise in Osun State for charging exorbitant commissions for cash.
“Investigations, however, revealed that they got the money from Filling Stations that collect new notes from fuel buyers, but they then resell the cash to the public at exorbitant rates.
“The arrested persons were helping the anti-graft commission with information to assist investigations and bust other syndicates involved in the hoarding and sales of the redesigned Naira notes,” the anti-graft agency said.
