Wema Bank Plc is facing renewed public scrutiny following allegations by Nigerian businesswoman Susan Chanel that N25 million mysteriously disappeared from her account through an unauthorised transaction, raising fresh concerns about the safety of customers’ deposits and the bank’s handling of disputed withdrawals.
Repeated cases of disputed withdrawals, missing deposits and delayed refunds has put the Moruf Oseni-led commercial bank on the spot, according to financial analysts who have been monitoring incidents of fraud in the Nigerian lender.
Chanel, who took her complaint to social media, expressed disbelief that such a substantial amount could have been withdrawn from her account overnight without her knowledge or approval.
More disturbing, according to the businesswoman, is her claim that she does not have internet banking activated on the bank’s mobile application, leaving her questioning how anyone could have accessed her account to execute the transaction.
She has consequently called on the bank’s management to explain how the money was withdrawn and account for the missing funds.
The latest controversy has generated considerable discussion online, with social media users raising questions about the vulnerability of bank accounts, the effectiveness of internal security controls and the responsibility of financial institutions to protect depositors’ money.
Some internet users have also questioned why customers should have to resort to social media campaigns and media intervention before banks resolve complaints involving disputed transactions. Others have called for regulatory scrutiny and greater accountability from financial institutions.
However, what has particularly attracted attention is the silence of Wema Bank’s management over Chanel’s allegations. As of the time of filing this report, the bank had not issued a public statement explaining the circumstances surrounding the disputed N25 million withdrawal.
The latest allegation is also coming against the backdrop of previous incidents involving customers’ funds at the bank, some of which attracted media investigations before they were eventually resolved.
In May 2026, Wema Bank came under similar scrutiny after N25 million belonging to a customer, Isa Aremu Lawal, was withdrawn from his account through a series of unauthorised transactions.
According to a report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, FIJ, the money was transferred in several tranches to an account identified as Gumel Provision Store, without the customer’s authorisation or any OTP request.
The incident attracted public attention after the customer’s son raised the alarm.
Interestingly, the bank eventually refunded the entire N25 million six days after FIJ published its investigation. The customer’s son subsequently disclosed that the bank attributed the incident to an insider hack.
In another incident, Wema Bank faced questions over the disappearance of N970,000 from the account of an Oyo State customer, Opeoluwa Oduwole.
The money reportedly disappeared in March 2025 shortly after the customer’s previously inactive account was reactivated at the bank’s Mokola branch in Ibadan.
FIJ reported in January 2026 that the customer had made several complaints and visited different branches without recovering the money. The disputed amount was reportedly transferred to an account belonging to one Emmanuel Yunusa at Sterling Bank.
The customer also accused Wema Bank of failing to provide meaningful explanations or a clear recovery plan despite repeated complaints.
Another case involved Beatrice Adeyeye, a retired civil servant in Ibadan, who lost N450,000 through multiple ATM withdrawals in January 2022, despite reportedly having her ATM card in her possession throughout the period.
An investigation by FIJ traced the transfers to accounts domiciled with other banks. Wema Bank eventually refunded the money about two weeks after the media organisation published its investigation.
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