By Muhammad Habibat Sani
Residents of Abaji, a prominent town in Abuja, lament the prolonged closure of the only bank in the area. The closure, prompted by a series of recent robbery incidents, has left the community reeling.
This development has brought significant hardship to the residents, particularly business owners and individuals who depend on the bank for daily transactions and upkeep.
For several months now, the bank has remained shut following a robbery incident that resulted in the tragic loss of lives.
The wave of robberies in the town has not only claimed lives but also disrupted economic and commercial activities, leaving the community in a dire situation.
Many residents of Abaji, particularly business owners, have resorted to travelling to neighbouring towns such as Gwagwalada and Lokoja to carry out banking transactions.
It would be recalled that earlier this year, daredevil robbers stormed the bank in Abaji, killing some members of the community and injuring others, including security personnel.
Since the tragic incident, the bank has remained desolate, and management has made no visible effort to improve the situation. The affected bank has refused to resume commercial operations, citing the damage to its structure that still needs to be repaired.
The town’s youth are also not spared from hardship. Many endure the rigorous process of traveling to Gwagwalada, about 63 minutes away, just to carry out banking transactions. Those who rely on ATMs are equally affected, as they must travel to withdraw cash or perform any form of banking activity.
Several residents shared their frustrations with our correspondent. Ummilkhair Muhammad Sani, born and raised in Abaji, complained about her expired ATM card. She said, “Transport from Abaji to nearby towns is expensive, so I’ve left the card without renewing it.”
Another resident, Umar Ashafa, expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation. He said, “We are at the mercy of POS (point of sale) operators. To withdraw ₦1,000, you now have to pay 100 naira and calculate the charges, and it’s a hardship. Sometimes, you have to check several shops just to find cash.”
Ekene Arachie, the manager of Nipco Petroleum, Abaji, has raised concerns about the unavailability of banks in Abaji, describing it as a serious security threat. He stated, “The effect of the absence is very devastating. Major businesses find it difficult to handle cash. The absence of such commercial banks has done more harm than good. It has created a lacuna between businesses and banks and has given room for security challenges.”
Similarly, Mallam Adamu, a point-of-sale (POS) operator, has lamented the difficulty of accessing cash. He said, “We have to beg big shop owners to give us cash. Normally, we get that cash from banks, but now it affects our business. Sometimes, I cannot get cash and have to close down my shop.”
A police officer who pleaded anonymity while reacting to the bank closure explained that the police had received numerous complaints from families residing in Abaji, business owners, travellers, and petty traders.
He said, “They are seriously affected by the bank closure as they do not have any means to transact their business with ease, especially the movement of cash and settling of debts.”
Addressing measures being taken to prevent future occurrences, the police officer noted, “The police are putting all necessary mechanisms in place to curtail such incidents from repeating. We have embarked on building synergy within the communities in Abaji to enable them to trust and report issues on time to the police. During the last robbery operations, it was visibly noticed that no timely information was provided to the police. But be rest assured, we are seriously checking the traces of such ugly incidents.”
He further appealed to the public for cooperation, adding, “I will also request that you, as a good citizen of Nigeria, which I believe you are, help us with information that can lead to any secret meetings or plans by the men of the underworld (robbers) before they can execute their plans, so we can arrest them on time.”
Commenting on the police response during the robbery, he described the incident as unfortunate. Still, he commended the gallant efforts of his officers, stating, “Even without proper information to the police, we tried our best and should be clapped for. The role of the police during the robbery incident or any other robbery is to counter the robbers, and we do that by engaging the robbers in a shootout (gun battle). That is what happened during the First Bank robbery in Abaji. Regrettably, we lost one of our officers and a civilian.”
He emphasised that despite these losses, the robbers were unable to cart away any money from the bank due to the professionalism displayed by the police. “It is important to note that because of our professional display of gallantry, the robbers were unable to remove any money from the bank.”
