Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday stormed Wuse Zone 4, in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the base of many Bureau De Change operators in the Federal Capital Territory.
It was learnt that the covert operation was carried out in order to dislodge currency speculators who were alleged to be massively mopping up available foreign currencies – a development that has devalued the Naira.
AFRIPOST earlier reported that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has claimed that non-remittance of dollars to foreign reserves by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is responsible for naira’s free fall.
According to a highly placed official of the anti-graft agency, the raid was a product of weeks of surveillance. EFCC officials have reportedly been monitoring the activities of most of the Bureau De Change operators in Wuse zone 4 axis.
The anti-graft agency official said the commission was working on intelligence that some forces with massive Naira inflow have mobilized resources and, are busy buying up available foreign currencies, especially the United States Dollar, to either hoard or smuggle the same out of Nigeria.
Daily Trust reliably gathered that some operatives of the Commission have been deployed to major airports in the country with a view to arresting those sabotaging economy of the country.
The source, who confided in our correspondent said the operation is coordinated nationwide, and it will be extended to all the major commercial cities such Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt.
He said the commission led by Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa was worried about a run on the value of the Naira with the currency exchanging for over N700 to a Dollar.
Several efforts to reach spokesman for the commission, Wilson Uwujaren, proved abortive as several calls to his mobile phone did not connect. He was yet to respond to a text message seeking his reaction .as at when filing this report, according to the Newspaper.