Fako SDO seals banks, business places for respecting ghost town calls

The Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) for Fako, Engelbert Viang Mekala on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, sealed two banks in Limbe I Municipality and over a dozen business places.

He ordered for the seal during a sensitisation tour 

for the fight against the one month ghost town in North West and South West region imposed by separatists fighters.

The SDO was accompanied by the Divisional Officer for Limbe I Subdivision, Innocent Moni Nanje, the Limbe City Council Mayor, Paul Efome Mbole Ngale who all condemned banks and business places respecting lockdown 

"You are joining the enemies of the State to punish the population by shutting your doors and banking operations," Fako SDO warned!

He said the banks decision to shut their doors was not helping the people, the economy of the Division and, to a large extent, an affront against the State.

It should be noted that Fako Division host many companies and other big business operations such as SONARA, CDC among other big businesses and economic ventures such as universities and school institutions. 

All these institutions Fako SDO says they need the banks in order to carry out their daily transactions or keep their businesses running unperturbed. Okay 

SDO sealed ECO Bank, UBA Bank 

ECO Bank Limbe, UBA Limbe and the Boco petrol filling station at Mile II. Meantime, in the other banks such as BICEC, AFRILAND, SGBC, the SDO warned the Managers to keep their main doirs open.

Most of their doors were shut but their staff were operating behind closed doors with customers being directed, whenever they showed up, to use the bank's rear doors. The SDO argued that when they keep their main doors shut, there are many persons who won't be able to know that they are in. 

Meantime, some of the banks had their doors open but, inside, there weren't any cashiers, except for for the managers and one or two staffers. 

The SDO said he had been getting a lot of complaints from the public which wasn't good. "I have been getting a lot of complaints from the people who need your services that they have been finding it difficult to either withdraw their money or save same." 

Banks and business people complain of insecurity 

Among all the towns in the Region, Limbe is the most secured. Limbe is where the BIR Military and Training Base is head quartered. 

It's been argued by many that the persisting lockdowns imposed, time and again, by the separatist fighters for the past nine years has instead helped to kill businesses and the economy in Anglophone regions.

While many of the banks were shut, almost every other bar or beer parlor, no matter its location, had all their doors open and people were business enjoying themselves. But the banks were locked with claims of being unsecured. 

Way forward 

The SDO ended by calling on the business and banking public to open their doors because he will continue with the drive to ensure that they stop punishing the people and killing the economy of the Division and beyond.

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