At least five million bank accounts were deactivated by Deposit Money Banks operating in the country on Saturday night following the October 31, 2015 deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria for bank customers to register and obtain their Bank Verification Numbers, findings by our correspondents showed on Monday.
The affected customers were, among other things, barred from withdrawing cash and transferring funds through Automated Teller Machines, Internet banking platforms and over-the-counter in the banking halls. The development created chaos in the banking halls across the country on Monday as angry customers besieged several branches to get their suspended accounts reactivated.
Long queues were seen in various banking halls when one our correspondents visited some branches in Lagos. Similar situations were recorded in Abuja, Port Harcourt and other major cities across the country.
Findings showed that a significant number of the five million customers whose accounts were suspended had obtained their BVNs but failed to link it with their account numbers.