CBN’s cash withdrawal limits illegal – Falana

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, on Monday described as illegal the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), cash withdrawal limits.

The apex bank had last Tuesday announced a cash withdrawal limit of N100,000 and a 5 percent processing fee over the counter for individuals and N500,000 for corporate organizations.

The CBN also pegged the daily withdrawal from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at N20,000.

The new policy which is expected to take effect on January 9, 2023, has been greeted with different reactions in the country.

In a statement he personally signed, the rights activist said the new policy contravenes Section 2 of the Money Laundering Act, 2022.

He argued that section 2 of the act limits cash withdrawals by individuals to N5 million while that of corporate entities was pegged at N10 million.

READ ALSO: CBN limits cash withdrawal to N100,000 weekly

The statement read: “Since the money laundering act, 2022 (which has fixed maximum cash withdrawal to N5 million) has not been amended, the limitation of cash withdrawal of not more than N20,000 per day and N100,000 per week fixed by the Central Bank of Nigeria is illegal, null and void in every material.

“We urge the Nigerian people to ignore the illegal announcement.

“However, we are compelled to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the management of the CBN to withdraw the illegal guideline and stop announcing more policies that are designed to sentence poor citizens to more excruciating economic hardship.”

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