The Federal Government, yesterday, blamed the current state of the Naira on orchestrated criminal conspiracies and manipulation by “unscrupulous elements hiding under the cloak of market forces”.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, who made the allegation while briefing newsmen in Abuja, said certain disturbing developments confirmed initial suspicion of the government that the currency was being deliberately undermined by those he branded “economic terrorists”.
He alleged that the elements, having failed in their attempts to force devaluation of the Naira, aligned to create an artificial currency situation whose primary purpose was to undermine the economic programme of Buhari’s administration. He said:
The Chief Law Officer said measure are already in place to deal with the infractions decisively, adding that relevant security agencies are on the red alert to investigate and prosecute the culprits. Let me emphasize that the Federal Government will pursue this initiative with all the resources at its disposal as the activities of this group, in our view, amounts to acts of economic terrorism against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.