Prior to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) deadline for the Naira swap, some suspected members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) delivered enormous quantities of old Naira notes to a large number of commuters in the Lake Chad Basin.

According to Daily Trust, this happened on Saturday, January 28, in Guzamala LGA of Borno State along the Maiduguri/Monguno route.

The ISWAP members were described by eyewitnesses as driving two gun trucks and wearing military camouflage, according to the publication.

The rebels, according to a local named Bakura Ibrahim, stood by the roadside with sacks of old naira notes and took cover under a tree.

He said;

“We left Monguno at about 12 noon. As we approached Mairari, there were no existing checkpoints in the area; we were apprehensive.

“They stopped us and asked if we were going to Maiduguri, then they started giving each person 100,000 old naira notes, but we could not believe it. They gave each occupant of the Golf Volkswagen.”

Another source said;

“The group simply told us, “If you think you can go to their banks and change it to new naira, go and do so; may Allah make it beneficial to you.”