Nigerian banks closed 29.4 million accounts by March 2025 as efforts to sanitise the {financial} system intensified amid rising dormant accounts and regulatory stress.
New figures from the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) present the variety of closed accounts stays excessive, although barely decrease than the file 33.29 million recorded in February.
The March 2025 determine additionally marks a pointy year-on-year rise, up 30.43 % from 22.54 million accounts shut in March 2024.
Alongside the closures, the variety of dormant accounts has additionally surged, climbing to 33.39 million from 19.79 million in the identical interval final 12 months. That’s a 71.3 % improve in inactive {bank} accounts inside simply 12 months.
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A dormant account is one which sees no deposits, withdrawals, transfers, or point-of-sale exercise for six months.
While banks clear up their books, in addition they report a rising variety of lively accounts. NIBSS mentioned lively accounts rose from 219.64 million in March 2024 to 320.05 million in March 2025, a rise of over 100 million, or 45.7 %.
The mass closures and dormancy spike observe the Central Bank of Nigeria’s December 2023 order for all industrial banks to limit tier‑1 accounts not linked to a Biometric Verification Number (BVN) and National Identity Number (NIN) by March 1, 2024.
NIBSS information exhibits BVN enrolment rose from 61.6 million in April 2024 to 66.23 million by July 2025, as extra Nigerians rushed to adjust to the CBN directive.
