Amid an online campaign for
customers to boycott Access Bank Plc, the management of the bank has
sympathised with #EndSARS protesters for freezing their accounts.
Access Bank had frozen the
accounts of at least eight persons involved in the #EndSARS campaign based on
the orders of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The bank’s decision to freeze the
accounts was done nearly two weeks before CBN obtained a court order to do so.
The move subsequently put the
bank in a bad light with hundreds of social media influencers calling on
Nigerians to boycott the bank which is Nigeria’s biggest lender.
They argued that Access Bank
ought to have been more thorough like Stanbic IBTC, whose founder, Atedo
Peterside, had openly refused to freeze the account of any person without a
valid court order.
However, Access Bank explained in
a statement on Friday that as a financial institution, it was bound by the
regulations of the CBN.
It said it was looking forward to
unfreezing the accounts.
The statement read in part, “We
want to express our sympathy for the inconvenience that eight of our customers
are going through due to the restrictions on their accounts as mandated by a
federal court order. We are eager for this to be resolved as soon as possible
“It is common knowledge that we
and the entire banking industry are regulated entities and therefore operate
under the authority of our regulators and law enforcement agencies. As such we
are compelled to comply with regulatory directives.
“While acknowledging the concern
of all well-meaning parties, we urge that enquiries and views be channeled to
the relevant regulatory and judicial agencies where the matter is receiving
attention.
“It is therefore surprising that
some individuals still choose to target Access Bank in a negative manner
despite not being the source of the action.”
Access Bank said it had always
been at the forefront of innovative efforts in support of the development of
Nigeria.
Access Bank should have taken CBN to court. Access Bank is putting business over human rights of their customers. If Access Bank is right to prioritise business over rights the customers similarly should boycott them as a reciprocal measure
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