Flutterwave denies chairman ordered closure of firm’s payment platform

Flutterwave has denied that its chairman, Tunde Lemo, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, directed the suspension of the fintech firm’s payment platform,

ThisDay reported on Tuesday that Lemo directed the shut down of the platform.

“I was the one that instructed them to shut down their system yesterday when the bad guys were moving money through them,” ThisDay quoted him as saying.

But Flutterwave said that Lemo never spoke with the newspaper.

“Contrary to these reports, this interview never happened,” the fintech company said on its website.

“Our payment platforms are up and running efficiently, as usual. Merchant payouts and collections are running seamlessly. Our consumer product, Barter by Flutterwave, is also completely operational.”

A pro-#EndSARS women group, Feminist Coalition, said it was under attack due to its contribution to the ongoing protest and its Flutterwave donation link was down.

The group is raising funds for medical bills, legal aids, and other necessary supports for people protesting against police brutality.

The group started alternatives accounts and bitcoin to receive donations.

Many #EndSARS protesters blamed Nigeria’s Central Bank for pressuring Flutterwave to shut down the payment platform to stifle protesters of funds.

“For demanding an end to police brutality we are now under attack,” Feminist Coalition said on Twitter on Tuesday.

“Our bank account has been deactivated and so has the Flutterwave donation link. Our members’ lives are also being threatened!”

As of Tuesday, a total of N37,355,149 had been donated into the account group, according to a post on the group’ official Twitter handle. This includes donations in foreign currencies.