Ebun Olowu
The Management of Access Bank Plc has pleaded with their customers for understanding following an online campaign calling for boycott of the Bank.
The bank accounts of at least eight persons involved in the #EndSARS campaign were frozen based on the orders of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
However, the Bank had frozen the accounts about two weeks before CBN obtained a court order to do so. Twitter influencers therefore called on Access Bank customers to close their accounts on Monday November 16, 2020.
Proponents of the call for boycott say the bank should have been more thorough like Stanbic IBTC whose founder, Atedo Peterside, openly refused to freeze the account of any person without a valid court order.
In a statement on Friday November 13, 2020, Access Bank said it symphatised with the affected persons, adding that it was looking for a quick resolution of the matter.
“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,” the statement read.
“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.”
