A Turkey-based Nigerian, Emmanuel Olaitan Johnson, has recounted how survived the earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people in Turkey on Monday.

Johnson, who spoke with BBC Pidgin, explained that he sensed danger when he noticed the crack in his building wall.

The PUNCH reports that a huge earthquake killed more than 2,700 people across a swathe of Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday, with freezing winter weather adding to the plight of the many thousands left injured or homeless and hampering efforts to find survivors, Reuters reports.

The magnitude 7.8 quake brought down whole apartment blocks in Turkish cities and piled more devastation on millions of Syrians displaced by years of war.

The worst tremor to strike Turkey this century came before sunrise in harsh weather and was followed in the early afternoon by another large quake of magnitude 7.7.

But recounting his ordeal, Jonhson said he was dressed only in pants, picked up his children and dashed into the snow without any piece of clothing.

“I was in my building and I noticed it was shaking but I wasn’t perturbed at first. But when I saw a crack in the wall, I grabbed my wife and children and ran out of the house.

“As I speak to you, I and my family are now homeless,” he told BBC Pidgin.

Johnson, a Nigerian living in Gaziantep, one of the affected cities in Turkey, explained that he had just finished watching the 9/11 terrorist attack documentary before the incident began.

According to Jonhson, before my house broke down, I ran inside twice to pick shoes for myself, wife and children and also pick up our documents.

He added that the incident began around 4:17 am in the morning.

According to him, we are dressed in singlets and boxers and my children were walking in the snow with barefoot.

“While I was using my building’s staircase, I almost lost my footing while climbing because of the earthquake’s magnitude and how the building was shaking,” he said.

For safety, he claimed that some people sheltered in sports centres and museums with strong buildings.

This was based on the Central Bank of Nigeria Act of 2007 and the Banks and other Financial Institutions Act of 2020.

According to the Banks and other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, the CBN governor may propose to alter, rescind or enforce fresh or more conditions on a licensed bank or financial institution after notifying the banks involved.

It noted that any bank that fails to comply with conditions is liable to a fine of at least N5m and an extra N100,000 for each day of the compliance failure.

Section 5(4,5) of the Act read in part, “Where the governor proposes to vary, revoke or impose fresh or additional conditions on a licence, the Governor shall, before exercising such power, give notice of his intention to the bank concerned and give the bank an opportunity to make representation to him thereon.

“Any bank which fails to comply with any fresh or additional condition imposed in relation to its licence is liable to (a) a penalty of not less than N5,000,000, and (b) an additional penalty of N100,000 for each day during which the fresh or additional condition is not complied with.”

The document further notes that any bank director, manager or officer who fails to ensure that compliance is observed is also guilty and is liable to at least three years imprisonment, or N2m, or both.

Section 5(6) of the Act read, “Any person who, being a director, manager or officer of a bank fails to take reasonable steps to secure compliance with any of the conditions of the licence of the bank commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than three years or a fine of not less than N2,000,000 or both.”

In the CBN Act 2007, it is an offence to hawk, sell or otherwise trade in naira notes, and anyone found guilty can face imprisonment for a term not less than six months or a fine of at least N50,000. Violators face both fine and imprisonment, according to the document.

Section 21(4) of the Act read, “It shall also be an offence punishable under Sub-section (1) of this section for any person to hawk, sell or otherwise trade in the Naira notes, coins or any other note issued by the Bank.”

The CBN had earlier threatened to prosecute anyone caught selling or abusing the Naira.

In a statement by the bank’s Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, the CBN expressed concerns over the selling of the new notes, adding that it would work with security agencies to address the issue.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that Nigerians who reject or deface the new naira notes may be at risk of a N50,000 fine or six-month imprisonment.