Amended BOFIA: The birth of ‘unquestionable’ regulator
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been taunted as a super-regulator. This is not only for the autonomy it derives from its enabling law but also because it can bite at will and get away with it.
In 2009, when the apex bank, under the leadership of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, sacked the managements of defunct Intercontinental, Oceanic and seven others banks, shattered their owners and took over the institutions in what was termed the ‘Sanusi Tsunami’, individuals and groups went to court in droves. But the litigations made no difference as the banks, except one, were subsequently nationalised and sold under a state cover.
Of late, the CBN has been accused of arbitrarily freezing the bank accounts of individuals. First, it was 38 accounts of individuals it accused of being involved i...