Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday, raided the offices of black market currency dealers in Abuja in a bid to halt the rapid fall of the Naira.
The Naira plunged rapidly between Monday and Tuesday to more than N840 in Abuja, barely one week after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced plans to introduce redesigns of the currency notes.
President Muhammadu Buhari has backed the move, saying it will help fight corruption. His Minister of Finance, however, differs with the move.
Hopes the policy could help fight money laundering appears to have backfired as suspected holders of illicit cash scramble to change their stash into foreign currencies, fueling demand for dollars and a further plunge in the value of the Naira.
The currency crossed the N800 mark for the first time at the weekend and the decline has shown no sign of abating. On Tuesday, traders said they were buying a dollar for as high as N840, implying they would sell more.
At the Wuse Zone 4 area of Abuja, where currency traders conduct their unauthorised deals, armed operatives of the EFCC stormed the Sheraton Hotel area, and arrested some of the speculators.
At some point, the anti-graft operatives were seen dragging a BDC operator into one of their waiting vehicles, while people surged towards the officials.
Other EFCC officials stood at an intersection between Sheraton Hotel and Constantine Street adjacent Abacha Estate in the Wuse area, as vehicular traffic grew.
BDC operators, who did not want to be named for fear of arrest, said the dollar sold at N860 as of 1pm on Tuesday.
“For now, there is no dollar to sell. This morning (Tuesday), a dollar was selling for N850, while I bought a dollar at N840,” the operator said.
“As of 1.53p.m, the USD was selling between N870 and N900 depending on sellers and buyers bargaining power,” another BDC operator said.