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People protest the excesses of the police Special Anti-Theft Squad, or SARS, in Lagos on October 20. Photographer: Adetona Omokanye / Getty Images
Access Bank Plc, Nigeria’s largest bank, is accused of illegally blocking an account used to promote media coverage of the protests against police brutality that recently swept through Africa’s most populous country.
Gatefield Nigeria Ltd., a public affairs company, filed a case against Access Bank in federal court in Abuja, the capital, on October 28, accusing the bank of “unilaterally restricting” its account and demanding damages of 100 million naira. ($ 262,000), according to court documents. The account was used to raise funds to support independent Nigerian journalists who covered nationwide demonstrations that lasted nearly three weeks, according to the firm.
“As more people contributed to our efforts, we noticed that we were no longer able to transact in the dedicated account that we use for this particular activity,” Adewunmi Emoruwa, the Abuja-based Gatefield chief strategist, said by phone on Tuesday.
The lawsuit will prove whether blocking Gatefield’s account without a court order was illegal. There were other complaints from individuals and organizations on social media that their accounts were restricted during the protests for apparently similar reasons.
Access Bank told Gatefield that the Central Bank of Nigeria ordered it to put restrictions on the account, implemented on October 15, Emoruwa said. An Access Bank spokesperson said the lender does not comment on its clients to third parties. A spokesman for the central bank did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment.
More than 70 people, including at least 22 police officers and soldiers, were killed as initially peaceful protests against the excesses of the police Special Anti-Theft Squad, or SARS, degenerated into days of rioting and looting across most of the country of more than 200 population. one million people.
Security forces killed at least 10 people when they opened fire on peaceful protesters gathered in Lagos on October 20, according to the human rights group Amnesty International. The Nigerian military has denied the accusation.
Thousands of people took to the streets as of October 5 in response to a video circulated on social media that allegedly showed SARS agents killing a civilian.
