…Journalist’s phone seized for taking shots.
by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Apparently, out of (im)patience – owning to hardship and frustration going through in accessing their monies – customers of Guarantee Trust Bank on Thursday openly engaged each other in free-for-all fighting at the bank ATM machine spot.
The fighting broke out, around 3:30 pm, between customers struggling to withdraw money, and then escalated after a donkey hours of waiting in hunger to get out money in vain.
Our correspondent, who at the scene of the incident was prevailed upon by combined security to delete the snapshots screen of the free-for-all fight within the ATM area, along roadside.
He was also reportedly attacked and his handset seized from him by a private security manning the bank, located at Kano Road, near Central Market Kaduna.
Our correspondent, who was a star witness, further reported that the fighting occurred twice, but the second time escalated and attracted attention of more people than the first one, with some customers – including breastfeeding mothers – shouting and struggling to wriggle themselves out of tight ATM fence.
Our reporter, who was also there to withdraw money, said the real cause of the fighting was not verified due to a sudden attack on him and subsequent seizure of his work tool for a long time.
But customers and a bank security man earlier confirmed to him that ATM was not dispensing money since morning until around 1:30pm, when some have waited and even left, and money was not dispensed across-counter in the banking hall.
He lamented that, after he was intimated and harassed by the bank security, together with armed police security guards in the GTBank, to delete the shot by force, he was eventually released with his phone, from security room by roadside.
He, however, regretted that all efforts to contact Kaduna Police Command spokesman, Muhammed DSP Jaige, on the attack on him by his men, asking him to delete the shot failed, as he could to pick distress calls put to him.
Findings revealed that the furor of customers’ congestion in different banks and the near-stampeding in attempt to withdraw money in banks ATMs is not peculiar to GTBank alone.
