The naira currency exchange has caused cash shortages and queues outside ATMs and banks
AFP

At least one person was injured in clashes between protesters and police forces in Southern Nigeria on Tuesday.

The protests were against cash scarcity spurred by the country's hurried phase-out of its old currency notes.

The protests began on a small scale over the weekend but turned violent on Tuesday, with demonstrators attacking bank employees and facilities, and blocking certain roads. One of the protesters was shot as police and protesters clashed in the southwest of the state of Ogun.

"Some people were attacking banks. In the process, somebody was shot, and we are yet to know whether the shot is from the police," Abimbola Oyeyemi, the police spokesman in Ogun, told The Associated Press.

Protesters allege that banks have withheld the new naira notes at several facilities ahead of the Feb. 10 deadline. The angry mob also vandalized ATMs in bank premises in Abeokuta as protests over the shortage of the new naira notes and Premium Motor Spirit, more commonly known as gasoline, spread to Ogun State Tuesday.

Protests were held in some areas of Ibadan, Oyo State, last week over the shortage of the new notes, which prompted an attack on the governor's office.

Bank employees were spotted running home to escape being targeted by the demonstrators as news of violent protests in Obantoko, Asero, and its surrounding areas spread throughout Abeokuta.

Also, the Central Bank of Nigeria was in a pickle when customers demanded cash from banks in a very uncomfortable manner. Nigerian bank customers were seen on camera in a bank, nude, after having their transactions declined in Abuja.

Videos posted on Twitter depict a nude client demanding the closure of his bank account, which was reportedly worth Naira 520,000 after staff refused to give him more than 20,000N at the counter.

According to the Daily Mail, some businesses were compelled to lock their doors after irate mobs brawled inside. Others even built tents to shade consumers waiting in long queues for cash.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had already announced in October that the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes would no longer be legal tender starting in January.

President Muhammadu Buhari assured the public on Friday that the issue would be resolved quickly. Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, told reporters on Saturday that steps are being taken to ensure a smooth cash swap and lessen disruptions.

Besides a cash crunch, Nigeria is also grappling with rising fuel shortages across the country due to a breakdown in the product distribution system brought on by the actions of cross-border smugglers.