Naira Swap: Gunmen Steal, Shoot POS Operator and Three Others in Bauchi

After redesigning the N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes in December 2022, the CBN initially set a deadline of January 31, 2023, for exchanging the previous currency.

Four people, including a point-of-sale (PoS) operator, were attacked by armed robbers at a PoS terminal in Zaki Local Government Area (LGA), Bauchi State. All four of them were shot and had to go to the hospital.

Reports say that the armed men took advantage of the locals’ rush on Friday night as they tried to meet the original January 31 deadline for the cash swap, just before the deadline was extended.

This occurs when the newly created N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes are presented in December 2022, just a few weeks before the deadline for exchanging old currency on January 31, 2023.

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) moved the deadline to February 10 because there was a big fuss all over the country when many towns and cities didn’t have the new notes.

At the Federal Medical Center, Azare, the victims are receiving care.

“I had a sack of money with me,” a PoS operator named Abdullahi Haruna declared. At gunpoint, they demanded that I hand over the cash or risk being killed, so I complied and handed over the bag of cash.

Lamaran Bappah, one of the other victims, claimed that he went to the terminal to exchange his old notes for new ones.

He explained, “I had saved the money for my wedding.”

The governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, went to the hospital to see the victims and offer his condolences.

Aminu Alhassan, the state’s commissioner of police, also said that an arrest had been made.

explosive device
The governor and his crew were also present when dynamite exploded at an Azare construction warehouse.

Despite the destruction of property, no casualties were reported. Since then, as the police have expanded their search of the region, more dynamite has been discovered there.

Meanwhile, the governor paid visits to the palaces of Katagum’s Emir and Zaki’s District Head to express his condolences on the events.