A recent situation in my country where the banks have been instructed to block accounts related/associated with crypto trading has prompted me to start thinking if these banks are actually happy carrying out government policies against their customers, because some of them seem not too happy about it but look to have little or no choice on the matter.
We only see what we want to see. The other side is never explored, what leads to such decisions is often important to be understood, major reasons being money laundering. Although Nigerian Banks have their own reasons to launch their own cryptocurrency, this should not be taken as a representation of the rest of the banks in this world, after all not every country and policy is represented by a single country.
Can the banks challenge the policies from the government?
Banks have to follow what the government tells them to do. Banks cannot run completely autonomously.
Are the banks working for the people or the government?
Any institution runs only for itself. They change their stance depending on which one keeps them safe and running. So if needed they may run with the government, which is usually the case.
is there any possibility that banks can operate freely entirely from government policies?
No. They have to run on the land and they have to follow the law of the land is the broad explanation.