Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) officials stormed the illegal Bureau de Change (BDC) market in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, shutting down all operations on Thursday. This crackdown coincided with the notable increase in the value of the Naira against the US dollar in the parallel forex market.
According to Mistila Dayyabu, a BDC operator, the EFCC’s raid led to the closure of all BDC activities in Wuse Zone 4. As a result, no buying or selling of foreign exchange was permitted at the location. The uncertainty created by the EFCC’s actions left many operators hesitant to engage in transactions, leading to a standstill in trading activities.
Amidst the turmoil, Mohammed Bello, another BDC operator, expressed reluctance to conduct any USD transactions due to the volatile nature of the forex market. He emphasized that the shutdown of BDC operations at Wuse Zone 4 had effectively disrupted normal business activities, leaving both operators and potential customers in limbo.
The disruption caused a surge in the number of individuals seeking to sell their foreign exchange, but BDC operators remained reluctant to facilitate any transactions, resulting in a fluctuation of the Naira’s value at the parallel forex market. The Naira was reported to trade between N1,500 and N1,750 per US dollar on Thursday, a significant departure from the previous day’s rate of N1,970.
This recent development follows a series of EFCC raids on BDC operators in major Nigerian cities, citing the Naira’s depreciation against the US dollar in the forex market. The move has drawn mixed reactions, with Bismarck Rewane, the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Derivatives Company, criticizing the government’s approach as detrimental to the financial ecosystem.
In a surprising turn, the Naira witnessed its second consecutive appreciation this week, with its value reaching N1,542.58 per US dollar on Wednesday, according to data from the Financial Markets Dealers’ Quotations (FMDQ).
The EFCC’s actions have not only disrupted the illegal forex trading activities but have also created a ripple effect in the broader financial landscape, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the future of forex trading in Nigeria.
