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As the intensive moves to recover banks’ debt by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) continues, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has condemned the CBN, EFCC and other security agencies for hiding under the guise of banks’ predicament to turn itself into a debt recovery agent.
But Nigerians are not surprised by this outburst seeing that the NBA has always aligned itself with the looters of the Nigerian economy.
The NBA further stated that transactions between customers and banks are contractual and that the security agencies should not term those in the transaction as criminals on mere imputation, and arresting alleged debtors without clarity.
In a communiqué issued at the end of its annual conference in Kaduna which was signed by SLP's Chairman, Funke Adekoya (SAN), it said, "The SLP deprecates the attitude of the EFCC and security agencies which have turned themselves into debt recovery agents.
With almost all the names of bigwigs in Nigeria’s corporate and political circles published in the list of Bad debtors in the country, the re-election of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2011 is in jeopardy due to massive mobilisation and underground gang up to ensure that he does not return to power after the first tenure. The list of biggest debtors in Nigeria includes top politicians, powerful retired military general, influential industrialists and public functionaries. While the central bank has bailed out nine of the country’s 24 banks to the sum of $4bn, nearly N600 billion the worth of the non-performing loans of the affected bank was N1.6 trillion. So far only about N150bn has been recovered while the banking stocks lost almost 50% of their monetary values. In the forefront of mobilisation against the re-election, Economic Confidential an online economic magazine gathered, are some powerful members of the Corporate Nigeria, a mafia-kind of an organisation that had funded the re-election of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003 with billions of Naira and made generous donation to Yar’adua’s election in 2007. There are also former elected and appointed public officers who have not been in the good book of the administration and ambitious politicians even within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) strategising for relevant in 2011’s election. The gang-up will see to a boycott of any campaign funding rally for Yar’Adua’s election. The aggrieved individuals have marshalled plans to teem up with opposition groups, especially the anti-government forces by funding their programmes and also working on some media to discredit the reform agenda on the economic front. They are also planning to host websites to play ethno- regional cards through different fronts.
Nigeria's former vice-president and opposition leader Atiku Abubakar is included in a list released by the Central Bank of major bank debtors.
The list says Mr Abubakar owes 111m naira ($730,000; £450,000) - though he says he will pay the money back.
It also names 600 others who owe a total of $2.5bn.
The non-repaying of these debts is a major factor in the recent government takeover of several banks, and has caused a scandal in the country.
The BBC's Caroline Duffield in Lagos says the latest move by the Central Bank marks the end of its forensic audit of Nigeria's 24 financial institutions.
The scandal emerged in August as the government stepped in to take control of five banks - sacking their management teams.
Four chief executives were arrested - they are now being prosecuted on multiple fraud charges.
A fifth chief executive is on the run - he is thought to be in the UK, our correspondent says. Powerful people
The list of debtors to the Bank PHB, Equitorial Trust Bank, Spring Bank and Unity Bank was posted on the Central Bank website on Wednesday evening. Debts owed to a fifth bank, Wema Bank, have not been revealed. 
Other powerful people on the list include:
• Aliko Dangote, president of Nigeria's Stock Exchange, who is Africa's wealthiest man
• Culture M
inister Adetokunbo Kayode
• Peter Ololo, a stockbroker, who has the largest debt of more than $110m.
Our reporter says Mr Ololo was previously relatively unknown to the public, but has been dubbed ''the man who brought down the banks'' by Nigeria's press.
