A 53 year old Mechanic, Adebayo Aderinde, lost his entire savings (N743,000) in FirstBankngr after his debit card was seized by the bank’s ATM. The bank has refused to investigate the matter or take any responsibility. Sadly, Adebayo is now suicidal.
At 9pm on August 4, 2019, Adebayo Aderinde David, a 53-year-old mechanic in Ilorin attempted to withdraw cash from a First Bank Automated Teller Machine (ATM) located in Surulere, Ilorin. He had dashed down to the ATM that late in the day to make an urgent payment of NGN50,000 to a business associate who was in desperate need of funds. After several failed attempts at dispensing, the machine confiscated Mr. Adebayo’s card while he looked on helplessly.
A confused Adebayo approached the security guard on duty and explained his predicament. The security guard then advised him to return to the bank the next morning to resolve the issue. Adebayo’s business associate was however unrelenting. He kept on calling his line to ascertain if he had made the withdrawal.
“After I explained to him that my card had been “swallowed” by the ATM, he suggested that I use my mobile phone to make the transfer,” Adebayo recalls. “I then approached the security man again to guide me through the process of doing a fund transfer using my mobile phone since I had never done it before.”
Without hesitating, the security guard offered to help. Not long after, Adebayo was finally able to make a transfer of NGN50,000 to his business associate but not without disclosing the PIN to his card, which the security guard said was required to ensure the success of the transaction. It was a relieved Adebayo that headed home after his associate called to confirm receipt of the funds. Adebayo also made a mental note to return to the bank the next morning to lodge a complaint about his “swallowed” ATM card.
A few hours later, around midnight, Adebayo started receiving debit alerts from his account. “I was almost running mad as the alert messages were coming in,” Adebayo lamented. “A total of NGN743,000 was withdrawn from my account leaving behind only NGN20,000.” The more shocking part was that the withdrawals were being made with an ATM in Ibadan The next morning, Adebayo rushed to the First Bank branch at Surulere to complain about the shocking cash withdrawals from his account overnight despite the fact that his debit card had stayed stuck in the ATM the previous night.
Narrating what transpired at the bank, Adebayo said: “a staff of the bank reviewed the CCTV footage and confirmed that I used the machine and that my card was seized in the process. They then brought me a damaged debit card claiming it was mine and it had been destroyed by the machine. They handed the card over to me and asked me to leave their premises saying there was nothing they could do about my situation.
I requested a statement on my account which revealed that the sum of NGN150,000 was transferred to one Fatai Bilikisu while the other sums were withdrawn using an ATM. The bank made two separate claims. First, after narrating my experience the previous night, they claimed that the person who helped me with the ATM and the mobile transfer must have been responsible for the act. Upon reviewing the CCTV camera and realizing that the man with me was their security guard, they changed their claim to suggest that I had probably brought a wrong debit card from my home.”
Distraught with the shoddy treatment at the bank, Adebayo contemplated suicide. NGN743,303 was his entire life’s savings and it had vanished like a puff of cigarette smoke in the air. On the advice of his friend, he wrote a petition to the EFCC who told him that the amount in question was too small for them to take the matter up. The EFCC, however, advised him to get a lawyer to pursue the case.
“My lawyer was able to secure a meeting with the branch manager who later warned us never to show up at the bank premises again. Ever since, my life has been rough and it seems the world will end soon for me. It has been impossible feeding my family and I pray that I find justice.”
The Avalon Daily made efforts to interview the manager of the Surulere branch but was only able to talk with the head of operations for only a minute over the phone. “I am not authorized to speak for the bank,” she said. “you can reach out to our corporate communications department in Lagos.” Several attempts were also made to reach the First Bank headquarters for comment but all proved abortive.
It is fast becoming a trend for major commercial banks to deny responsibility for theft of funds in their possession, even when confronted with evidence that shows that the owner of an account was not responsible for transactions that may have occurred on their account. What First Bank, like several other commercial banks, is saying is that while they promise to safeguard customer transactions, they will not be liable for a breach on their system that results in the loss of funds of their customers. Should that be the case, why should anyone keep his/her money in a bank?
