Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Following the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deadline to exchange old naira notes with the new ones, suspected members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) have reportedly distributed huge amounts of old naira notes to scores of commuters in the Lake Chad Basin area of Borno State.
It was gathered that the incident occurred around Mairari village, along the Maiduguri-Monguno highway, In Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno State, at the weekend.
The the ISWAP members were dressed in military camouflage and drove in two gun trucks.
A resident, Bakura Ibrahim, told Daily Trust that the insurgents positioned themselves under a tree and stood by the roadside with bags of old naira notes.
“We left Monguno at about 12noon. As we approached Mairari, there were no existing checkpoints in the area; we were apprehensive.
“They stopped us and asked if we were going to Maiduguri, then they started giving each person 100,000 old naira notes, but we could not believe it. They gave each occupant of the Golf Volkswagen,” Bakura said.
Another resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “The group simply told us, ‘If you think you can go to their banks and change it to new naira, go and do so; may Allah make it beneficial to you.”
