Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to direct the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, to suspend the implementation of the increase in Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transaction fees, pending the hearing and determination of the lawsuit before the Federal High Court, Lagos, challenging the legality of the increase.
SERAP has also, amongst others, urged the President to “seek legal advice from the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, on whether the CBN has the legal responsibilities to uphold the rule of law of its operations by suspending the ATM fee hike, pending the determination of the lawsuit on the matter.
The lawsuit followed the announcement by the CBN that ATM withdrawals made at a machine owned by a bank but outside its branch premises will now attract a charge of one hundred naira per twenty thousand naira withdrawn. ATM withdrawals at shopping centres, airports, or standalone cash points will incur a one hundred naira fee plus a surcharge of up to five hundred naira.
All these are contained in an open letter dated 1 March 2025 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare.
