Naira scarcity: EFCC arrests PoS agents in ‘sting operation’

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), at the weekend, arrested scores of Point of Sales (PoS) agents in Ondo State, for allegedly trading the naira with higher interest to customers.

Daily Trust gathered that the men of the anti-graft agency who were in plain cloth stormed the state capital, Akure, in what could be best described as a “sting operation” to carry out the exercise at the major markets.

The unscrupulous PoS agents were suspected to be buying and selling both the old and new naira notes to customers at a higher rate.

It was alleged that some of the PoS agents have also been making brisk business by buying cash from financial institutions (banks) and in turn, exorbitantly charged their customers.

An official of the EFCC, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, confirmed the “sting operation” to our reporter on Sunday, during an interview.

He said the operation followed an intelligence gathering that many of the PoS agents, particularly in the markets, were hoarding the naira notes to sell at exorbitant interest to unsuspecting customers.

“It was a sting operation carried out in Akure and some other parts of the state. We gathered from intelligence that many of the PoS agents were overcharging customers for both the new and old naira notes.

“So, we decided to begin a clampdown, especially inside the major markets in Akure where this criminal attitude is common. Although, it’s going to be a weeklong process and it’s meant to put sanity over the complaint about cash flow in the state and other places nationwide,” he said.

However, it was authoritatively gathered that some of the PoS agents who got the information beforehand had hurriedly closed down their stands while others abandoned it for fear of being arrested.

Several eyewitnesses told Daily Trust that the plain clothes officers stormed the popular Oja Oba market on Oba Adesida road in Akure and arrested many of the PoS agents.

One of the witnesses, Gbenga Adeniyi, said he was alerted by the operations of the security agents by a customer who wanted to withdraw money and also buy some goods inside the market.

A visit to the Isolo market on Sunday showed that some PoS agents had deserted their stands for fear of arrest by the operatives, whom sources further claimed, would act like a customer, before the operation.

Another witness in the market, Bimpe Enikuomhien, said she was attending to a customer when a young lady came and asked her how much she charged for one thousand naira.

Daily Trust learnt that the exercise had further caused untold hardship for customers who depend on the PoS agents in the market to withdraw cash in an attempt to avoid long queues in the bank.

Meanwhile, there was a heavy queue of customers at many of the banks in Akure on Sunday following the directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the financial institutions to open operations on Saturday and Sunday.

A Daily Trust reporter who visited the First Bank located in the Alagbaka area of Akure observed that the financial institution had started paying customers the old naira notes.

The situation was also similar at the branch of the United Bank of Africa (UBA) located on the same axis, as the bank customers waited patiently to be paid.