Bureau de change operators in Adamawa State disclosed that due to a growing uncertainty in the parallel market, it is rejecting foreign currencies from customers.
At Jimeta Modern Market in Yola, some of the money changers told reporters that they were apprehensive over the sudden and continued crash of the dollar which destabilized the parallel market.
Chairman, Bureau De Change operators Association in Adamawa State, Lawan Mai Yasin, said the traders incurred heavy losses after they bought a dollar at around N870 from sellers before it suddenly crashed to N680.
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He said many trades were wary of the situation which still looked bleak for the parallel market and decided to hold on and monitor the trend to avoid further losses.
He said:
“Traders have a large quantity of goods in stock which they purchased at high price before the prices suddenly nosedived and continued to go down in the weekend, so with the uncertainty in the market, many of us are no longer buying for now.”
Some customers who spoke with newsmen said the bureau de change operators refused to buy dollars and other foreign currency notes from them during the weekend.
A customer working with a foreign company said:
“Only one bureau de change agreed to buy dollars from me on Saturday because they had it in stock and did not want to risk buying more when the price was falling dramatically. Even when I found a buyer on Sunday the price was too low, that I decided to keep my money for now.”
Meanwhile, operatives of the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria Police Force Intelligence Bureau FIB-IRT, have arrested four suspected members of a kidnap syndicate that abducted Mrs Hussana Adamu, the wife of a popular Rivers-based businessman eight months ago.
Hussana Adamu was released a week later, after payment of N20 million ransom.
Acting on credible information, DCP Tunji Disu- led team arrested four of the suspects identified as Isiaka Hamidu, 30, who hails from Adamawa State; Nwasaneo Goodluck, 34; Victor Nwidee, 29 and ThankGod Bariledun , 36, all from Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State.
When interrogated, the prime suspect, Isiaka Hamidu, who sells parrots and peacocks in Port Harcourt, said he invited other members of the syndicate to abduct Mrs Adamu to avenge an alleged ill-treatment of his younger brother by her husband, Musa Ahmad, from Maiduguri, Borno State but resides in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He said:
”One of my brothers worked for Alhaji Musa Ahmad, for 11 years. When he left to get married, all Alhaji Ahmad could pay my brother was N250,000.
“I was not happy with him because everyone knew he was very rich and could afford more than that. I decided to kidnap him or any member of his family.
“I contacted Goodluck, a long-time friend and told him about the situation. He was also angry and bought my kidnap idea.
“Good luck in turn called leader of the gang , Ojukwu, who mobilized and coordinated the woman’s kidnap, after I showed them her house. But I did not join them for the operation so that no one would recognize me.”
Hamidu said he was paid N1.3 million from the crime. When asked what he used the proceeds from the crime to do, he said;
“I used N1 million out of it to f*** ashawo( commercial sex workers). I lodged in a hotel , invited prostitutes every night for one month. I slept with at least two ashawos every night for one month and I paid them N20,000 each. I used the remaining N300,000 to plant corn in the village.”
On his part, Goodluck who has a Higher National Diploma holder from the Abia State Polytechnic Aba, admitted to having collected N5.5millon from the leader of the gang after ransom was paid.
Goodluck said:
”Out of it, I took N2 million, gave Isiaka N1.3 million while Victor got N500,000.”
Another suspect, ThankGod, claimed he had no idea that members of the gang were into kidnapping. He said he was contacted to use his vehicle to convey them to a place in Bori Khana Local Government Area of the state, after the kidnap.
”Leader of the gang told me to take him somewhere in my car. On the way I picked three other friends of his . From there, he directed me to where it was later discovered to be close to the victim’s house, where they kidnapped her and directed me to their hideout . That was when I knew they were kidnappers.”
The fourth suspect, Victor, stated that his role was to monitor the victim’s movement and report back to other members of the gang who were waiting patiently for the appropriate time to strike. He also admitted to having collected N500,000 from Goodluck, as his share of the ransom, revealing that he used the largesse to repair his Toyota Corolla car.
