As part of moves to curb the continuous depreciation of naira operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) raided the offices of black market currency dealers in Abuja on Tuesday.
The officers picked an undisclosed number of Bureau De Change (BDC) operators around the Sheraton Hotel area in Abuja, an area with a large number of black-market exchanges.
The spokesman of the anti-graft agency, Wilson Uwujaren made this known but refused to go into details of the operation.
He said, “I can confirm there was an operation there, he said. “I can’t give more details, that’s all I can say.”
Two white buses parked in front of the Musawa House along Constantine Street of Wuse Zone 4.
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The anti-graft operatives were seen dragging a BDC operator into one of the waiting vehicles, while people surged towards the officials.
Naira plunged rapidly between Monday and Tuesday to more than 840 in Abuja a week after the Central Bank of Nigeria said it will replace higher notes to fight counterfeiting, inflation and insecurity.
President Muhammadu Buhari has backed the move, saying it will help fight corruption. His finance minister criticised the policy.
Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, said the redesigning of the notes would be a means to control money supply and would aid security agencies in tackling illicit financial flow.
He added that currency management has recently faced several daunting challenges that have continued to grow in scale and sophistication, with attendant and unintended consequences for the integrity of the CBN and the country.
Abdulrasheed Bawa, EFCC’s chairman, had hailed the decision, describing it as “a well-considered and timely response” to the challenges of currency management.