Economy
Whistle Blowing: Banks Monitor Workers

By Dipo Olowookere
Nigerian banks have placed their workers under close watch following intense pressure by ‘big’ customers on majority shareholders and directors to monitor overzealous staff eager to take advantage of the whistle blowing initiative of the Federal Government.
Account Officers from different banks told our correspondent the development was to prevent them from squealing on classified accounts by perceived looters and corrupt government officials.
One of them, who confirmed the development off-record yesterday, said: “The close monitoring is very intense now as everyone now watches each other’s back.”
But a Senior Account Manager in one of the commercial banks in Lagos, who also pleaded not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the matter, said the development was not new.
He however admitted it has been increased lately.
According to him, “Monitoring of bank workers is not new but it may be true we are more closely monitored today than what obtained before the introduction of the whistle blowing initiative.
“That is understandable because there is the feeling amongst the top management that some overzealous workers, in a bid to take advantage of the initiative, may embarrass genuine prime customers.
“This may account for introduction of measures to ensure no staff abuses his or her office to the detriment of the bank.
“Besides this internal precaution, bank staff members and indeed banks are closely monitored by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) in a bid to recover looted funds,” he said.
Explaining how bankers are being monitored, the top banker said: “Today, bank workers are closely monitored in two ways; officially and unofficially.
“Officially, we are monitored by regulators like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“There are also internal measures to ensure that bank members of staff do only what they are supposed to do.
“This may differ from bank to bank. The practice is real though I cannot say here that such measures were introduced because the so-called big customers are mounting pressure on directors.
“Perhaps, because the anti-corruption agencies know that bank workers occupy sensitive positions that may enable them to collude with public funds looters, they are today monitored more closely than politicians.”
Another top bank worker at the Corporate Headquarters of one of the commercial banks in Lagos Island, who also pleaded not to be named, gave our correspondent a more precise description of how government agencies and bank management monitor workers in banks.
“Recently, we were asked to fill Assets Declaration Forms. With this, they are able to monitor the progress rate of each staff.
“Of course you know that with BVN, everybody’s accounts can be traced easily. Even if a banker has ten accounts in different banks, it would be easy to trace them.
“In anticipation of false claims of sudden financial windfalls, they have also banned bank workers from betting. This means that no banker, found with suspicious huge sums of bank balance or assets he cannot ordinarily acquire with his income can claim to have become a billionaire overnight through betting.”
The banker also explains that the regulators have set out certain guidelines that will help monitor workers and the banks themselves.
“One of the policies currently employed to achieve this is the directive that all of us must regularly make Suspicious Transaction Report (STR).
“Another is the requirement to report to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Nigerian arm of the global Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) domiciled within the EFCC.
“These are part of the official monitoring procedures in practice today. It is perhaps the increasing demand to abide by these requirements that some workers are referring as undue monitoring,” he said.
Efforts to get the confirmation of the CBN could not yield result as the Acting Director of Communication of CBN, Mr Isaac Okoronkwo, neither picked his calls yesterday nor responded to our text message.
But Chief Iheanacho Uko, a former banker and Principal Partner of U & A Consulting Ltd, said there is nothing strange with banks monitoring the activities of their staff.
Quoting the “general guidelines on institutional policy of anti-money laundering/ combating,” he said there is nothing wrong with banks initiating internal measures to ensure their staff behave appropriately because “every financial institution is required to adopt policies stating its commitment to comply with AML/CFT obligations under the law and regulatory directives and to actively prevent any transaction that otherwise facilitates criminal activity or terrorism.”
“Every financial institution is requested to formulate and implement internal controls and other procedures that will deter criminals from using its facilities for money laundering and terrorist financing and to ensure that its obligations are always met.”
http://thenationonlineng.net/whistle-blowing-bank-workers-close-watch/
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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