Following a leaked email demanding that Muslims who work in Polaris Bank, especially their YES centre stop going for prayers on Fridays, many Muslims across the country have stormed the bank to demand that their accounts be closed immediately. In a widely circulated Facebook post, Aminu Soja said he and his fellow Muslims in Kano went into the bank, which he referred to as Bigot Bank and demanded that they shut down their accounts.

Soja, who shared a picture of many Muslims, especially from the North in the bank demanding the closure of their accounts, recounted that he and other Muslims went into the bank on Thursday to close their accounts but only succeeded in withdrawing all their funds and left without shutting down the accounts.

Soja said:

“This is how we troops into the Bigot Bank this morning to withdraw and close our account. “But unfortunately, unable to do so. “After I withdrew all funds living almost zero Naira, I requested a bank account closing form; the lady at the customer care shouted what happened? Alhaji, I replied, “Nosin” in my Hausa dialect; she stood up and ushered me to the manager’s office, and said, “sir same problem” the manager stood up and shook my hands instructed me to sit down. At the same time, he round-up with someone who I believed also came for the same issue.

“The manager greeted me with a slight bow and a charming smile as if we were familiar. He said Baraka da Jumoo. I answered barka dai with a frown. “He is a Yoruba Muslim with a prayer dot on his forehead, he tried to convince me not to close the account, but my obstinate conservative emotions told me no. “Though because of the kindness of the manager, I walk out without accomplishing the mission. “Nevertheless, I withdrew all my money and believed many also did the same. Our action will serve as a deterrent to a potential bigot who doesn’t want to live peacefully.”

Polaris Bank has been under fire after an email by one of its Managers, Damilola Adegbite, said it is not the bank’s policy to abandon their duty posts and go for prayers.

The email partly reads: “Dear All, It has been observed that on Fridays, you leave your work desks to attend the Jumat service bearing in mind the impact of your absence on the workflow and productivity of Yes Center.”

“Kindly note that there is no provision made anywhere in the bank’s policy for employees to attend any religious activities during work hours. Going forward such permissions would not be granted on the Yes Center platform and any infraction of this directive would be dealt with accordingly. You are all expected to acknowledge the receipt of this mail. Thank you.”

The email immediately drew a backlash leading them to issue a statement saying it respects all faiths and that the manager acted without authorisation.