By: News Peddlers
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| EFCC [Credit: News Telegraph] |
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) raided the well-known Abuja Zone 4 market on Monday and began shooting at Bureau De Change operators in an attempt to halt the naira's rapid depreciation, which now stands at N1,700 to the dollar.
EFCC operatives wearing red vests laid siege to the Abuja Zone 4 complex, using firearms to disperse BDC operators from running businesses, highlighting the President Bola Tinubu administration's desperation to use any means necessary to salvage what remains of the naira, which has plummeted to record lows.
Mr Tinubu's strategy to float the naira has backfired, further depreciating its value on the global market, causing product prices to skyrocket by more than 200 percent.
Nigerians who could no longer bear the hardship staged protests in several states, including Oyo, where residents dubbed Mr Tinubu "a thief" who had no idea how to run his administration and lift the people out of poverty.
It is unclear how the raid on BDC operators will affect the naira's value, but EFCC agents appear to believe they have the ability to influence the currency's worth.
In 2021, then-central bank governor Godwin Emefiele threatened to arrest the owner of Aboki FX, a reputable platform that publishes the naira's exchange rates against other currencies. Mr Emefiele falsely claimed that the website manipulated the naira's value, causing it to fall.