The past five working days in the Ijebu-Ode area of Ogun State have been unpalatable for bank customers and operators who have not been able to carry out financial transactions.
According to reports, banks refused to open for business since last Monday following letters allegedly sent to some of them by suspected robbers threatening to attack their branches.
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To this, the banks obliged by closing their branches after the state government failed to assist the police in providing armoured personnel carriers to the branches.
This has crippled businesses for some residents of Ijebu-Ode who are point-of-sale (POS) operators. Some of the operators had to travel to places like Sagamu, Abeokuta and others to deposit or withdraw money to attend to customers in the locality, according to Punch.
An unidentified operator lamented that the development “portends great danger” for him and others in the business in Ijebu-Ode.
The operator said, “We withdraw money from banks to pay our customers and we also deposit in the bank when we have large sums of money with us. If the banks are not opening, it will negatively affect us. In fact, it is affecting me already. I’ve been going to Sagamu to make withdrawals. It is bad,” as quoted by Punch.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the development, said the bankers were only entertaining fear “where there is none.”
He said, “I don’t see any reason for that action. Honestly, there is no reason for it at all. The police called them and assured them of their safety. The police are posted everywhere. They saw the presence of the police. They are claiming that the armoured personnel carrier (stationed) there is faulty.
“Even if it has a fault, is it not the police that will still operate it? And it is the same police that said ‘no problem, open your shops, you don’t have any problem as far as security is concerned.’ But I don’t know the motive behind it. All the DPOs in the Ijebu area including the Area Commander met with them and assured them (of their safety).”
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