Some security experts argue that the Central Bank’s redesign of the naira may have been undermined after a viral video showed notorious bandit kingpin Kachalla Baleri and his gang flaunting the new notes. According to defence blogs, the cash allegedly came from a ₦10 million ransom paid by relatives of abductees, raising suspicions that some bankers could be colluding with the bandits.
In the video, which our correspondents viewed on Thursday, Baleri and his armed men—speaking Hausa—displayed ₦1,000 and ₦200 notes. A defence blogger with the Twitter handle @Edrees4P posted the clip, writing: “Short video clip of a terrorist leader, Baleri, displaying new naira notes and claiming that he has more than enough to buy more weapons.” Another account, @DefenceTimesNG, added: “Scarcity of Naira: Notorious bandit leader Kachalla Baleri releases video clip displaying new naira notes he received from the ₦10 m ransom in N200 and N1000 denominations,” accompanied by a photo of Baleri.
During the recording, Baleri claimed he had used some of the new notes to purchase ammunition and said only Allah knows how many sacks of the currency he has stored. He remarked, “They redesigned the naira; poor innocent people don’t even know about it. Some don’t even own ₦10,000. They have to wake up early to hustle. What about those who have millions in the cities? The money they say people are changing, we in the bush are changing it. Some city dwellers haven’t even received it. But the people they call terrorists now hold the money. This is the new ₦1,000 note; this is the new ₦200 note. We are just showing a little of what we have. We have plenty of sacks of the new money, and only Allah knows the amount.” A background voice added, “I have ₦10 m at home.”
Our attempts to obtain comments from the Department of State Security Service and the Defence Headquarters went unanswered as of press time. Security expert Timothy Avele told our correspondent that the bandits likely received the new notes from the victims’ relatives, which could partially defeat the redesign’s purpose. He added, “The policy is generally good, but coordination and implementation are poor. Many key stakeholders were not involved, leading to the hiccups the country is experiencing in distributing the new naira.”
Another security analyst, Patrick Agambu, suggested that the bandits must have obtained the notes from bankers they deal with, possibly swapping old currency for the new. Reports indicate that Kachalla Baleri was among the 19 bandit/terrorist kingpins declared wanted by the Defence Headquarters in November 2022, with a ₦5 million bounty placed on each to encourage public tips leading to their arrest.
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