The Chairman of Flutterwaves, Mr Tunde Lemo, has disclosed that he directed the suspension of the fintech firm’s payment platform.
Lemo, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said the decision was taken to prevent illicit flow of fund through the payment channel.
Lemo explained:
I was the one that instructed them to shut down their system yesterday when the bad guys were moving money through them.
Lemo’s explanation is coming following reports that the account of the fintech firm and that of Feminist Coalition, a pro-#EndSARS women group, were frozen.
A tweet by Feminist Coalition, which has now been deleted, stated:
The tweet read:
For demanding an end to police brutality we are now under attack! Our bank account has been deactivated and so has the Flutterwave donation link. Our members’ lives are also being threatened.
As of Tuesday, a total of N16,706, 635.9 had been donated into the account, according to a post on Flutterwaves’ official Twitter handle. This includes donation in foreign currencies.
The organisers of the protest have been using the donations to fund medical supplies, food, drinks, legal aids, and others to sustain the protest.
READ ALSO: FG Announces New Date For Commencement 774,000 Jobs
Earlier, reports emerged that that Flutterwaves was summoned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Flutterwaves had made a N2 million donation to assist people who got injured in the course of the ongoing protest.
The outfit, on October 9, was said to have started receiving donations from the public via a link to cater to different needs arising as protesters increased across the country.
A report by Peoples Gazette claimed that the suspension of Flutterwaves’ service was because of pressure from the CBN and other government bodies to cut off financial supply to the protesters.
It also reported that earlier on Monday, Flutterwaves had communicated that an update would be made on the platform which “became suspicious when their bank account was also deactivated.”
