Nigerian banks to shutdown nationwide

A major crisis looms in the financial sector as all banks in the country may shut their doors to customers anytime this week as their chief executive officers (CEOs) move to protest the continued detention of their staffs by the department of state security (DSS).

It was gathered that the CEOs are irked by arrest and detention of several key officials of no fewer than 13 banks over the last two weeks by security operatives, saying that this has not only crippled their operations but also poses a great risk if normal banking operations continues. The 13 banks affected by the arrest are Zenith bank, Access bank, Fidelity bank, Unity bank, First City Monument bank(FCMB), First bank plc, Skye bank, Sterling bank, Diamond bank, Ecobank, Wema bank, Guaranty trust bank and Citibank.

The arrest of the bank officials are linked to money laundering case against the Jigawa state governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, a key member of the G-7 governors, who is also one of the arrow head of the new PDP believed to be opposed to president Goodluck Jonathan's rumored second term ambition. The DSS is said to be investigating questionable transactions involving the governor and two of his sons, Aminu and Mustapha, who is the district head of Bamaina, their home town. While the governor is said to have escaped arrest as a result of his constitutional immunity, his two sons were arrested last week by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). However, it is the DSS that is handling the case of the bankers.