The Managing Director of Nigeria’s premier commercial bank, First Bank Nigeria Limited, Olusegun Alebiosu is currently in a quandary as to how close to N600 million disappeared from a businessman’s account.
Alebiosu is confused on how the parent company First Holdco boss, Femi Otedola will respond to report that the bank’s image has been further dragged in the mud as it grapples with some fraudulent employees of the bank who are bent on sinking its reputation.
The development is coming a few months after an employee of the bank’s Iganmu branch in Lagos, Tijani Muiz Adeyinka, stole over N40 billion belonging to some customers, and disappeared.
Adeyinka who headed the branch’s electronic products team as a manager at the time of the fraud has yet to be apprehended.
Keen stakeholders in the sector are still asking how the fraud could have been orchestrated without the knowledge of those at the top.
The incident which shocked the world, as to how such a humongous amount of money could develop wings from the bank’s vault without the knowledge of the management, has remained a huge shock to the entire banking world.
In its response to the infamy the commercial bank suffered at the time, the Chairman of the parent company, First Holdco, Femi Otedola sacked the then managing director, Kazeem Adeduntan in anger.
Adeduntan was unceremoniously kicked out of the bank, few months to his retirement, after serving the commercial bank for more than two decades, by Otedola who felt he was not really in charge for Adeyinka to have stolen N40 billion right under his nose.
Sources in the commercial bank informed the magazine that the current chief executive and his management are now gripped with fear following report by a business man, Dr Eke Agabi in Abia state that close to N600 million has developed wings from his account without his knowledge.
The business man has now sued the bank for fraud, in what can further plunder the image of Nigeria’s premier financial institution down the slope.
How did the fraud happened?
According to Dr Agbai, the money was withdrawn from his account after he threatened to withdraw the large amount from his fixed deposit account domiciled in the Abriba branch of the bank, not long after the bank decided to close the branch.
In the suit filed by his lawyer, Ebuka Nwaeze, the Abia businessman claimed that the commercial bank emptied the account for fear that he might withdraw the money. The entire deposit was withdrawn six times without him knowing what was going on.
Dr Eze claimed that he only got to know after his mobile banking application stopped working and he could no longer transact with the account.
The entire money, he further claimed, was withdrawn N55 million apiece for six consecutive times without any recourse to him. He said he’s yet to recover from the shock, and remained dazed as to how a corporate organization like FBN could behave in such a callous manner.
He further explained that he had kept the money in the account as his own contribution to the development of the community, but that when the management decided to close the branch, he concluded that there was no longer any reason to keep the money with the bank.
In his quest to find out what happened to his money, the businessman visited one of the branches in Abuja, the nation’s capital where he was informed that his account has been emptied.
He was shocked to learn of the sad news that nothing was left in his account, and has since been making efforts to have the situation reversed, according to his lawyer.
The alleged fraud committed two years ago has yet to be settled by the bank, as the businessman claimed that his money has not been returned to his account.
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