Police operatives, on Tuesday, took over premises of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office located in the Alagbaka area of Akure, the Ondo capital.

The takeover of the facility followed a protest by some bank customers who were complaining about the rejection of the old naira notes by commercial banks and business centres in the state.

Motorcyclists, drivers, traders, civil servants, had complained about going to commercial banks to exchange the old naira notes for the new but were turned back by bank officials.

Some of the customers who spoke with journalists said the banks are no longer collecting the old naira notes despite the Supreme Court order.

Emmanuel Adeniyi, an Ondo resident, described the rejection of the notes by the banks as “impunity”.

“The automated teller machines (ATM) of the commercial banks are still dispensing the old notes and they are rejecting the notes from us. What kind of impunity is that?” Adeniyi asked.

“You can just imagine. The bank is not collecting the old notes from us. They directed us to go and deposit the money at the CBN office and it’s the reason why we are here right now,” another bank customer said.

“Sadly, these banks are still dispensing old notes to us and they are not collecting the old notes by hand any longer. It’s just frustrating.”

Meanwhile, the CBN has insisted that its February 10 deadline for the validity of old naira notes still stands.

The Cable