‘Will you pick money at market square?’ — police warn against attacks on banks

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has warned against attacks on banking facilities across the country.

Over the past days, banking facilities, including automated teller machines (ATMs), in some states have either been destroyed or torched by protesters.

The attacks on the banking facilities followed the protests over the lingering scarcity of the naira notes and the attendant hardship on many Nigerians.

Speaking on the development in a broadcast on Friday, Muyiwa Adejobi, force spokesperson, said the police will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those destroying facilities in banks.

Adejobi urged Nigerians to be patient and avoid taking “irrational” decisions owing to the naira redesign policy.

“I want to speak about the incidents happening across the country — attacks on banks,” he said.

“I don’t want to understand the rationale behind it because if you don’t have money, you need to go to the banks, and when you attack these banks, you attack the ATM where you see the money.

“Do you expect the banks to put the money on a tray and put it in a market square for you to go and pick?

“No, this is not reasonable. And I want us to see it from this angle. Are we saying those in the streets are not genuine agitators or protesters?

“I want to believe these are Nigerians who just want to seize the opportunity of the scarcity we have to cause trouble, to rob, to steal people’s property, or to attack some of these banks. Or what do we call this?

“We need to be very cautious of what to do. Look before you leap. Don’t rush to take actions that are highly irrational. Assimilate, assess situations before you act.

“Why going to all these banks? Why going to these ATMs? These banks you have burnt, these machines you have destroyed, how do you want to get money from them?

“This is an issue we need to address. Don’t let us capitalise on policies like this and cause problems to ourselves, even attack innocent people, vandalise people’s vehicles.

“For us in the police, those that have been arrested will be charged to court and the warning is going out again that we should please desist from this.

“If you go to banks to attack or rob any bank, the police won’t hesitate to do the needful.”