Residents of Ido-Ani in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State have appealed to First Bank of Nigeria to reopen its branch in the community, seven years after it was closed following a deadly armed robbery attack.
The branch was attacked by armed robbers in April 2019, with the assailants reportedly making away with an undisclosed amount of money from the Automated Teller Machine while killing at least six people, including a police officer and a school vice-principal.
Security operatives later arrested one of the suspected robbers in a joint operation involving the police and the military.
Speaking on behalf of concerned residents, community leader Steve Otaloro called on the bank’s management to restore operations at the Ido-Ani branch, describing its continued closure as inconsistent with the legacy of the bank’s first indigenous Managing Director, Chief Samuel Asabia.
In a statement issued on Monday, Otaloro, a former chairman of the Irekari Local Council Development Area, said reopening the branch would boost economic activities and honour one of Nigeria’s foremost banking figures.
According to him, the Ido-Ani branch was established in the 1980s during Asabia’s tenure.
He said, “While there is no public evidence that the branch was established solely because it was Asabia’s hometown, its establishment during his tenure remains historically significant and symbolises the philosophy of taking banking services to the grassroots.
“Unlike many rural branches that began operations in rented buildings, First Bank invested heavily in Ido-Ani by constructing a purpose-built banking hall as well as an official residence for the branch manager, demonstrating the bank’s long-term commitment to the community.
“For several decades, the branch served as the major financial hub for communities including Idogun, Imeri, Owani, Afo, Ikun, Oba and other neighbouring settlements.”
Otaloro noted that the branch also provided banking services to institutions such as the Federal Government College, Ido-Ani, the Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Imeri, as well as farmers, traders, artisans, transport operators, cooperative societies, civil servants and business owners in the area.
He lamented that the closure has forced residents and entrepreneurs to travel to other towns for banking transactions, while many now depend on Point-of-Sale operators for services once offered by the bank.
The community leader urged the bank’s current management to reconsider the decision to shut the branch, saying history would judge its leadership by its willingness to reverse the closure.
“The present management may not have ordered the closure of the Ido-Ani branch, but history will remember whether it had the vision to restore it.
“There is still time for First Bank to return to the historic town of Ido-Ani, where its first indigenous Managing Director, Chief Samuel Oyewole Asabia, began his remarkable journey and now rests.
“Reopening the branch would be a fitting tribute to the doyen of Nigerian banking and a practical demonstration that the bank remains committed to the ideals of rural banking and financial inclusion that he championed,” Otaloro said.
