Fact-check: Were Fidelity Bank Staff Trapped During Hunger Protest in Kaduna?

Fact-check: Were Fidelity Bank Staff Trapped During Hunger Protest in Kaduna? 

A  video on social media claim that during the #EndBadGovernance protests, staff of Fidelity Bank were trapped when Rioters stormed the building. 

The video is accompanied by the following text: “Fidelity Bank kaduna. I learned some staff are still trapped there…Is dis protest or looting…Is fidelity bank Asiwaju property or govt owned”.

Hoodlums masquerading as protesters vandalised a branch of the bank at Tudun Wada in Kaduna South Local Government Area of the state. 

The spokesman of the State Police Command, Mansir Hassan, confirmed the attack on the bank according  to Channels Television in a phone conversation.

He said that the hoodlums broke into the bank during the protest and carted away some valuables while also destroying some vehicles parked within the bank premises.

The hoodlums also  vandalised government and private offices and looted shops in Kaduna.

To confirm if the banks’ staff were trapped in the building as claimed in the video, PRNigeria fact-check contacted the Kaduna Command PPRO, ASP Mansir Hassan via phone call, but  there was no response from him as he did not pick his call.

Confirming further, PRNigeria fact-check also conducted keyword searches online, and the findings revealed that the Governor of the state Malam Uba Sani visited the bank at Tudun Wada, as well as the KADIPA and KASTELEA offices that were vandalised by the protesters.

PRNigeria fact-check conducted background checks  on security measures put in place by Nigerian commercial banks before the protest. It discovers that banks were shut before the protest as staff were directed to work from home remotely, while customers were advised to use digital channels for transactions. Fidelity Bank also complied with the directive as they   had locked their gates. 

Conclusion: Based on the above findings, PRNigeria fact-check therefore concludes that the claim that  Fidelity Bank staffers were trapped in the building is misleading.

By PRNigeria