The Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCON), has said it is not lawful for Nigerian financial institutions to arbitrarily freeze or close bank accounts belonging to individuals or entities accused of trading cryptocurrency.
In a public statement issued on November 22, BICCON — a coalition of Nigeria’s foremost cryptocurrency and blockchain advocacy groups — advises affected individuals and companies to seek legal advice and redress in courts where appropriate. The body also insists that no Nigerian organization, public or private, should be above the law.
As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Nigerian financial institutions have been closing or freezing bank accounts of entities suspected of trading cryptocurrency since November 3. The institutions have claimed they are doing this in order to comply with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive that was initially issued on February 5.
However, despite these claims by banks, the blockchain committee insists it is questionable for the financial institutions to block or freeze accounts simply because the account holders are cryptocurrency traders. BICCON’s statement explains:
