Despite the Economic and Financial Crimes officials’ crackdown on Bureau D Change operators in Abuja on Tuesday, the value of Nigeria’s naira deteriorated further against the dollar at the parallel market. 

The naira traded at N855 per dollar as of Wednesday afternoon, Peoples Gazette reports.

The naira’s free fall could reach N1,000 per dollar in a matter of weeks despite government’s frantic jackboot interventions, analysts say.

In 2021, the CBN prohibited the sale of foreign exchange to BDC operators in a bid to arrest the fast fall of the country’s currency. The apex bank had accused the BDCs of unauthorised sales of foreign exchange above the market they were authorised to serve.

On Tuesday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission raided the offices of black-market currency dealers in Abuja, arresting BDC merchants in an attempt to halt the country’s currency’s ongoing depreciation.

The raid came barely a week after the Godwin Emefiele-led apex bank announced plans to redesign the naira, giving Nigerians till January 31, 2023, to return their old currencies to the bank’s vault.

However, experts have anticipated that politicians will overwhelm BDC operators with the old currencies that they have accumulated at home in an effort to avoid direct transactions with the bank, which will increase demand for dollars.

The dollar has continued to rise since the apex bank announced plans to redesign the naira.