EndSARS: CBN ‘locks pharmacist out of bank account because he treated injured protesters’
Bassey Israel, a pharmacist who led the EndSARS medical team in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, says he no longer has access to his bank account.
Observers believe Israel is being targeted by the Muhammadu Buhari administration for helping organise medical treatment for injured protesters.
Israel said his Access Bank marked 003397XXXX has been frozen since October 15.
“I am in charge of EndSARS medical team in Port Harcourt,” Israel was quoted by Punch to have said.
“We had people donating for medical supplies, food, water, ambulance services and these donations were made directly into my account and of course these donations had EndSARS descriptions so I think that was how they were able to flag my account.
“I noticed that on October 15, I was trying to make a debit transaction on my account and noticed that there was a restriction.
“So, I called the bank and I was told that there was indeed a restriction but I should go to any branch near me and when I did so, the branch manager sent a mail to the branch where I opened the account.
“The response to the mail was that there was a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to restrict the account.
“The lady was surprised and even asked me if I had any issue with the CBN and I responded that if I had any issue with the CBN, I wouldn’t be in the bank in the first place, I would be on the run.
“I asked what could be done and she gave me no answer. She had to show me the mail on her computer which I read. It was directly from the CBN and it read, ‘Place this account on PND.”
There are fears that Israel is not the only one the Nigerian government is targeting financially.
The government is also reportedly compiling a list of prominent EndSARS protesters it would ban from travelling abroad. The no-fly tactic is usually used against terrorists and perpetrators of other crimes against humanity.
Recall that EndSARS strategist and fundraiser Modupe Odele accused the immigration service of seizing her passport and blocking her from leaving the country on November 1.
