The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has called for laws guiding the operations of digital banking to clear the sector of unlicensed operators endangering the lives of Nigerians.
The Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Babatunde Irukera, during a summit on World Consumer Rights Day in Abuja, said lack of extant laws is hindering it from protecting Nigerians against the risks associated with the sector.
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Irukera said the raid led to the confiscation of 119 laptops, eight mobile phones and one hard drive that were used to harass defaulters of loans which has led many to face depression, and some committed suicide because they could not withstand the backlash of the actions of the operators.
He said, “Some of these operators are not registered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), so we have to look at how we can bring them under our regulatory framework so that we can hold them to book. Otherwise, there is nothing we can do as an agency to sanitise and prosecute them. With this, Nigerians will continue to fall prey to their gimmicks.”
Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, noted that with digital financial making transactions seamless and has incorporated more Nigerians to the financial sector, it has exposed Nigerians to high risks of fraud.
Represented by its director on Consumer Protection, Rasheeda Monguno, Emefiele said the apex bank is working on a regulatory framework that would protect consumers from online lenders.
