It was chaos at the U-Turn Bus stop, Abule Ẹgba branch of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) on Monday, January 30 as customers went on the rampage due to an alleged unavailability of cash.
This happened in spite of the extension of the deadline given to banks by the CBN to ensure that everyone gets a chance to swap their old notes to the new ones.
The bank officers made fruitless efforts to calm nerves as they could neither give customers old notes nor new ones.
The frustrated customers took to vandalizing the bank properties as there was neither over-the-counter transactions, no cash from the Automatic teller machine. The situation was made worse with poor network that completely halted the day’s transactions.
While the hostility lasted and customers became increasingly agitated and violent, security personnel on duty took to their heels, after pleading to no avail that properties be not destroyed.
A bank staff member who spoke on conditions of anonymity revealed that virtually all UBA branches in Lagos were in disarray as no banking transaction can be successfully initiated.
A journalist who was at the Abule Egba scene noticed customers pleading even to access the old note, as they claimed, that their businesses are closed due to non availability of cash to either buy fuel or pay for electricity.
Mobile police officers were also seen pleading with customers not to destroy the ATM machines when attempts were made to destroy the ones on sight.
Some customers claimed they arrived the bank as early as 7:00am even before it opened to customers so that they could be quickly attended to, but ended up disappointed.
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