The organisers of the planned protest at the Lekki tollgate tagged “EndSARS Season 2” have listed the ban on cryptocurrency accounts as one of many other reasons that triggered their action.

In a press release titled “EndSARS Season 2; Why we will #OccupyLekkiTollGate on Saturday – Campaigners’, on Thursday, the organisers insist on embarking on the protest.

Recall the Lagos police commissioner has recently made a statement that no protest whatsoever will happen at the Lekki toll gate on Saturday. The organisers appear to resolved to ignore by the police statement.

The statement read in part; “After commiting genocide by killing scores of people who were peacefully protesting at Lekki Tollgate and other parts of Lagos, Governor Sanwo-Olu and other oppressors wants to spit on the dead and dance on the blood of the innocent by reopening the yahoo gate to be collecting their blood money again.

“We say NO! We are undaunted! We will be occupying Lekki Toll gate again starting from Saturday February 13. We urge all well meaning Nigerians to storm back all the barricades as our rulers have shown that they can never change. Since the #EndSARS, they are yet to effect any of the promises. Police brutality is still raging and SARS is still operating.

“Despite overwhelming and highly compelling evidence showing how several protesters were shot by the military, no single military personnel has been brought to book.

“Deaths have been established and many victims of the Lekki shootings have surfaced, yet neither the victims or families of our deceased colleagues have gotten justice.

“After close to five months of sitting, the judicial panel meant to inquire into the lekki massacre has refused to deliver justice to victims of the Lekki massacre most of whom have either lost their limbs due to gun wounds or have become deceased.

“Despite overwhelming grounds of involvement of Governor Sanwo-olu and ex-army chief, Tukur Buratai in the Lekki Massacre, non of them have been brought to book. President Buhari instead appointed them ambassadors so they won’t be arrested and prosecuted for genocide and war crimes at the Hague. Despite EndSARS, police brutality and extrajudicial killings continue unabated.

“Government has refused to provide employment for young people, yet they went ahead to ban the most promising source of income of young people; cryptocurrency.

“Nigerians are extremely poorer and yet the cost of food is on the high side with increased cost of electricity that only produces darkness. Petrol price is being increased as marketers want it at #190 per litre.

“Nigerians are no longer secured in any part of the country; when they are not being harassed or extrajudicially murdered by police, they are being kidnapped, mimed and killed by bandits.

“Today, the life of cows has become more valuable than those of Nigerians even as our streets and communities have fallen to the rule of kidnappers and bandits.
The Nigerian government now negotiates and enriches terrorists and bandits while chasing after, arresting, shooting and killing protesters.

“It is to this end that we call on you all to come out enmasse to demand not just justice for victims and fallen heroes of the October 20 killings but that all involved in this heinous criminality be brought to book. Come out to demand the right to life and to exist in a country that respects our rights as citizens, abhors police brutality/extrajudicial killings, provides us with security, decent jobs with good wages and other such socio-economic rights that come with being a citizen.”

https://www.ngtimes.net/2021/02/endsars-season-2-back-organisers-list-reasons.html

U sure soldiers no go arrive there on the 12th before the protests next day?

Hnnm
Following keenly

I'm impressed.

no going back tinibu must compensate a those lives lost

I want to see how python will dance this time

adeolakemi:
no going back tinibu must compensate a those lives lost

Abeg omo Igbo, commot Tinubu name for your mouth. FG has promised to deal ruthlessly with protestors. Face them and leave BAT, Sanwo Olu etal out of una wahala. Face Abuja.

Lol. Are these protest organizers serious? Crypto currency "most promising source of income of young people"?

Does this not now confirm our claims that many of the protest organizers are yahoo boy and opportunists business folks, scammers and fake activists with vested interests they want gullible Nigerian youths to go out and die for?

Everyone is just scamming everyone else in Nigeria. Sickening.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pymnts.com/blockchain/bitcoin/2020/bitcoin-daily-fbi-says-nigerian-bec-scam-netted-millions-with-some-converted-to-bitcoin/amp/

Bitcoin Daily: FBI Says Nigerian BEC Scam Netted Millions With Some Converted To Bitcoin


Two Nigerian scammers known for allegedly defrauding American companies for tens of millions of dollars that they transferred into bitcoin were extradited to the U.S. from Dubai, Cointelegraph reported.

The suspects were Olalekan Jacob Ponle, who used the alias “Mr. Woodbery,” and “Mark Kain,” and Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, who called himself “Ray Hushpuppi” and “Hush.” The two men reportedly posted pictures of themselves on Instagram with luxurious wealth, according to Cointelegraph.

But the two men got that wealth, allegedly, from a business email compromise (BEC) scheme, where they gained access to legitimate email accounts and then tricked the company's employees into sending money to the scammer's email account.

Using that method, Ponle and Abbas allegedly got as much as tens of millions of dollars. They reportedly transferred $6.5 million into 1,500 BTC, Cointelegraph wrote. Ponle, according to the complaint, wasn't that concerned with covering his tracks — he reportedly used the same address on the Bitcoin network since 2014.

Ponle and Abbas tended to use Gemini more than other networks, despite that crypto being one of the more compliant in the entire industry. But the two likely needed a U.S.-based crypto in order to access businesses, Cointelegraph reported.

In July of 2019, after the crimes had already allegedly been taking place for months, the FBI was able to infiltrate the circle and an agent used the same handle as a previous associate to talk with Ponle, using that to conduct a transaction and prove what was going on.

One of Ponle's last posts on social media said followers were “worth the pleasures of their labor,” and implored them to “Stop letting people make you feel guilty for the wealth you’ve acquired, especially when you paid in blood, sweat and tears, to have the things that are deemed ‘un-purchase-able’,” Coindesk reported.

The amount of bitcoins transferred across the dark web rose 65 percent in the first quarter of 2020, PYMNTS reported, totaling $384 million.

Imagine protest organizers claiming ban on Cryptocurrencies is one of the reason for their planned protest. Nigeria is finished and won't be long before openly known yahoo boys like Hushpuppi start becoming governors.

https://www.arise.tv/how-fbi-alerted-nigerias-central-bank-to-scammers-using-cryptocurrencies-to-defraud-the-west/

How FBI Alerted Nigeria’s Central Bank to Scammers Using Cryptocurrencies to Defraud the West


More facts have emerged on why the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) decided to ban cryptocurrency trading in the country.

The apex bank prohibited dealing in cryptocurrencies or facilitating payments for cryptocurrency exchanges last week Friday.

Investigations by THISDAY have revealed that, the federal government and the CBN were warned by the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation, (FBI), on the activities of fraudsters using cryptocurrencies to bring into the country hundreds of millions of US Dollars illegally obtained from the USA and other Western economies.

This was said to have particularly targeted Covid-19 stimulus packages designed to cushion the impact of lockdown measures on businesses and working families in these countries.

In an interview at a Reuters online event last week Wednesday, President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde said of bitcoin: “It’s a highly speculative asset that has led to some reprehensible activity, including money laundering, and any loopholes need to be closed.

“There has to be regulation. This has to be applied and agreed upon at a global level because if there is an escape that escape will be used; she said.

According to THISDAY investigation, “FBI had discovered that fraudulent Nigerians, popularly known as yahoo boys, took control of large chunks of money released as stimulus in the wake of the devastating effects of the Covid-19, which has put many Americans out of jobs.”

In order to avoid detection, these fraudsters had been sending millions of dollars to Nigeria through cryptocurrencies. This made it difficult for the authorities in both Nigeria and the US to trace the illicit monies.

However, before these funds were used to destabilise the Nigerian economy, the CBN had to wield the big stick.

In the last six months, Nigeria is said to have become the second country in the world with the biggest cryptocurrency transactions.

According to highly placed sources within the presidency, “These fraudsters remitted between $200 and $300 million to Nigeria every week, using cryptocurrencies.

“The Central Bank and the federal government were clearly alarmed by this development and had to act fast before irreparable damage is done to the economy.”

Even more disturbing was that intelligence reports indicated that kidnappers had switched to bitcoin for ransom payments, making it increasingly difficult to trace.

To make matters worse, investigations by FBI showed Nigeria did not have the underlining economic base to justify the massive flow of funds on a weekly basis. To compound the issue, was how the inflows were being routed leaving investigators puzzled and perplexed by the elaborated complicated channels in the digital money world of anonymity.

After the FBI tip-off that these funds being pumped into cryptocurrencies were products of fraud, the federal government, acting through the CBN, had to ban cryptocurrencies in Nigeria.

A cryptocurrency (or crypto) is a digital unregulated currency that could be used to buy goods and services, but uses an online ledger with strong cryptography to secure online transactions.

Much of the interest in the currency, not backed by any government, is to trade for profit, with speculators at times driving prices skyward.

But the CBN had, at the weekend, directed banks and other financial institutions to immediately close any accounts dealing in cryptocurrency or facilitating payment for cryptocurrency exchange, with immediate effect.

The banking regulatory authorities directed banks to expose any individual and entity running such accounts, warning that failure to adhere to the directives would attract strict sanctions.

The apex bank, in its circular on the issue, cautioned deposit money banks, (DMBs) non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) and other financial institutions (OFIs) as well as members of the public on the risk associated with transactions in cryptocurrency.

The Director of Banking Supervision, Bello Hassan, and the Director of Payments System Management Department, Musa Jimoh, signed the circular.

“Further to earlier regulatory directives on the subject, the Bank hereby wishes to remind regulated institutions that dealing in cryptocurrencies or facilitating payments for cryptocurrency exchanges is prohibited.

“Accordingly, all DMBs, NBFIs and OFIs are directed to identify persons and/or entities transacting in or operating cryptocurrency exchanges within their systems and ensure that such accounts are closed immediately.

“Please note that breaches of this directive will attract severe regulatory sanctions. This letter is with immediate effect,” it stated.

However, the CBN directive had immediately drawn heavy criticisms from the Nigerian public, with a former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, advising the apex bank to reverse the decision, arguing that the country couldn’t close her economy at this time

In a statement personally signed, Atiku said the number one challenge facing Nigeria was youth unemployment, explaining that it was not just a challenge, but also an emergency, because it affected the economy, and exacerbating insecurity in the nation.

Speaking against the backdrop of the decision of the CBN to ban and restrict banks transactions in the cryptocurrencies, Atiku said, “What Nigeria needs now, perhaps more than ever, are jobs and an opening up of our economy especially, after today’s report by the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that foreign capital inflow into Nigeria is at a four year low, having plummeted from $23.9 billion in 2019, to just $9.68 billion in 2020.”

He said already, the nation had suffered severe economic losses from the border closure, and the effects of the #COVID19 pandemic.

Accordingly, he explained, “This is definitely the wrong time to introduce policies that will restrict the inflow of capital into Nigeria, and I urge that the policy to prohibit the dealing and transaction of cryptocurrencies be revisited.

“It is possible to regulate the sub-sector and prevent any abuse that may be inimical to national security. That may be a better option, than an outright shutdown.

“There is already immense economic pressure on our youths. It must be the job of the government, therefore, to reduce that pressure, rather than adding to it.

“We must create jobs in Nigeria. We must expand the economy. We must remove every impediment towards investments. We owe the Nigerian people that much,” Atiku stated.





Tobi Soniyi, Chuks Okocha

As If other channels of payments are not used for fraudulent purpose. One mumuriudeen claiming cryptocurrency is fraud above.

Drained intellectually fellow..following an illiterate with nepa bill as school cert.

Elon musk the richest man on the planet invested 1.5b dollar on cryptocurrency last week.

Microsft has invested heavily in the past creating.

Come to think of it? Whats the difference between buhari and Sunday Igboho?

Both illiterates
Both tribal warlords


For the fact that this corrupt and tyrant government is feeling threatened by crptocoins, does not mean they should block it.

Bandits rae collecting bank transfers and ghana must go. Those are not Bitcoins.

This tribal Lord will not be there forever. 2023 is near, all the damages will be repaired by Gods grace.

Come to think of it, what's the difference between Sunday Igboho and buhari?

Both are illiterate
Both are tribal warlords

hotwax:
As If other channels of payments are not used for fraudulent purpose. One mumuriudeen claiming cryptocurrency is fraud above.

Drained intellectually fellow..following an illiterate with nepa bill as school cert.

Elon musk the richest man on the planet invested 1.5b dollar on cryptocurrency last week.

Microsft has invested heavily in the past creating.

Come to think of it? Whats the difference between buhari and Sunday Igboho?

Both illiterates
Both tribal warlords


For the fact that this corrupt and tyrant government is feeling threatened by crptocoins, does not mean they should block it.

Bandits rae collecting bank transfers and ghana must go. Those are not Bitcoins.

This tribal Lord will not be there forever. 2023 is near, all the damages will be repaired by Gods grace.

Come to think of it, what's the difference between Sunday Igboho and buhari?

Both are illiterate
Both are tribal warlords

Dullard, the very weak financial regulatory framework of Nigeria makes it especially susceptible to the sort of financial havoc an alternative and near invisible money platform can wreak on our already fragile, fraud and corruption-prone economy. Ode oshi.

At best, there is a legitimate and justifiable need to beef up the regulatory framework of cryptocurrency divestment in Nigeria before it becomes a dark web and black market tool for the destruction of our banking and finance sector.

It is therefore very puzzling the organizers of the protests, unless they are Scammers and yahoo fraudsters, chose to lead with its ban as one of the reasons for their protest rather than be circumspect by staying away from a controversial sector for now and till there is more clarity, either way, about the future of crypto in Nigeria. Not everything utilized elsewhere will benefit Nigeria. Commonsense 101 olodo.

OneTemplate:


Dullard, the very weak financial regulatory framework of Nigeria makes it especially susceptible to the sort of financial havoc an alternative and near invisible money platform can wreak on our already fragile, fraud and corruption-prone economy. Ode oshi.

Zombirudeen..broda ode.

Weak financial system indeed when NFIU and interagency reporting framework is monitoring your kobo kobo transfers.

You mumu gan ooo..weak regulation and your mumugod can quickly block anyone's account without judicial trial.

Or you mean overregulation? Brain you no get...ur fulanigod get brain?

Hmmm. This is something. I’m in short of words

Let it rain!!!

OneTemplate:


Abeg omo Igbo, commot Tinubu name for your mouth. FG has promised to deal ruthlessly with protestors. Face them and leave BAT, Sanwo Olu etal out of una wahala. Face Abuja.

Cause BAT don't fly in the day, accept in the night...

Yoruba protest.

OneTemplate:
Imagine protest organizers claiming ban on Cryptocurrencies is one of the reason for their planned protest. Nigeria is finished and won't be long before openly known yahoo boys like Hushpuppi start becoming governors.

https://www.arise.tv/how-fbi-alerted-nigerias-central-bank-to-scammers-using-cryptocurrencies-to-defraud-the-west/

Dunce....

LASG should have prosecuted that Obianuju or DJ sWITCH or whatever she calls herself for the arson and carnage in not just Lekki but across Lagos... Is it until IPOB destroys Lagos that our people will wake up?

Abuja is the Federal Capital, any #EndSars, #EndBadGovernance etc. protest should be directed to the centre not Lagos.

Thank God the Attorney General of Lagos has released a press statement, anybody caught in Lekki should be treated as criminal, tried and jailed. That is our verdict.

Good

This life nor get part two o, make una they calm down small small first.

I go just dey my room dey check updates about the "real" massacre that's about to occur.
The funny thing is most of this online warriors inciting gullible youths will be no where to be found on the D-Day, their only job is to stay in the comfort of their homes (some even stay outside the country) while inciting idiots to their early graves and organizing crowdfunding that will only enrich themselves. We sabi where the billions realized from the last protest went to....
My experience in SUG has taught me terrible life lessons.

But they occupied Jonathan's era and nobody shot at them.

Una dey do unaself.

Nigerians don't deserve sinparty

Tyranny does not tolerate any threat to its dictatorship.

OneTemplate:
Lol. Are these protest organizers serious? Crypto currency "most promising source of income of young people"?

Does this not now confirm our claims that many of the protest organizers are yahoo boy and opportunists business folks, scammers and fake activists with vested interests they want gullible Nigerian youths to go out and die for?

Everyone is just scamming everyone else in Nigeria. Sickening.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pymnts.com/blockchain/bitcoin/2020/bitcoin-daily-fbi-says-nigerian-bec-scam-netted-millions-with-some-converted-to-bitcoin/amp/

Honestly, you're sick
Did same US ban cryptocurrencies?
Una go just dey reason like cows
So, without crypto yahoo no fit move their monies to other safes?
Have they banned movement of monies not meant for business and school abroad due to political thieves like them moving stolen monies away?
How can you ban crypt which is helping to reduce the demand for dollar?

Anyway, na the protesters get time. I will never waste my energy for Nigerians till dem receive sense
And please my fellow Igbos, stay away from this protest I beg una

Igbo stay away from Yoruba protest!
This animals are planning to loot our businesses out of envy.If you want to protest, do it on only social media sites.

adeolakemi:
no going back tinibu must compensate a those lives lost

Wetin concern Tinubu with ur protest. Mtscheeeew

Before you go for another useless protest, make sure you're not the only child your of your parents.

Stupid youth and stupid government


Kidnappers get paid in naira, MMM defrauded people in Naira, should we also ban naira?!

onoms4luv:
This life nor get part two o, make una they calm down small small first.

BUT THIS LIFE GET PART 2 WHEN JONATHAN WAS THERE ABI.

2 late 2 quit....we move tomorrow

Sorry I have nothing to say till Saturday 13th Feb 2021

Dog when wan lost nor dey hear him master voice again.

Just know that these government people will go at any length to protect their source of income.

So you be calming down.

GOVERNMENT2:
BUT THIS LIFE GET PART 2 WHEN JONATHAN WAS THERE ABI.