Thousands of Nigerians on Friday stormed the Marina, Lagos office of the Central Bank of Nigeria for the purpose of depositing their old N1000 and N500 notes.
The two denominations ended being legal tenders on Thursday after President Muhammadu Buhari’s nationwide broadcast. During the broadcast, the president had said that only the old N200 notes would not be allowed as legal tender till April 10, 2023 while N1000 and N500 ceased to be legal tenders. The president said those who have the old notes can only now deposit them according to the new guidelines released by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Obviously as a result of the guidelines, thousands were seen at the Marina office of the apex bank seeking to complete the process of the depositing their old Naira. It was a chaotic situation at the office which used to be the former headquarters of the apex bank before it moved to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
One of those at the bank who spoke with the NPO Reports said he came to Marina as early as 8am only to also meet an already huge crowd at the place. It was a hectic time for security men to control the situation as the crowd surged forward despite what looked like an attempt to create orderly queues.