Bank customers worry over ‘illegal’ deductions from accounts

Published

2 years ago

November 7, 2022

Many customers of commercial banks in the country have condemned the increasing spate of ‘illegal’ withdrawals from their accounts.

Some of the customers who were victims of the act said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday.

They described the act as fraudulent which the authorities must urgently address.

They also claimed most of the illegal deductions were being done in connivance with bank employees.

A customer with one of the new generation banks, Miss Helen Isiguzu, said that fraud was being perpetrated in almost all the banks unlike before, adding that it was more rampant in some banks.

She said, “What is happening in banks these days is discouraging me from depositing my money with them.

“No wonder the Central Bank of Nigeria said there is so much money in the hands of Nigerians outside the banks.

“People are beginning to lose hope in commercial banks.

“Instead of my money to develop wings and disappear from my account just in a day, I rather invest it in real estate business and it will yield greater profits.’’

Mrs Anthonia Ibedalu, another customer with one of the new generation banks, said that some banks in the country were operating below international standard.

She called on relevant authorities, including the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to step up actions and save customers from fraudulent activities in some banks.

She said, ”

I travelled to South Africa for a period of three years but I had a dollar account in one of the banks.

“When I got back to Nigeria for holidays, I decided to take the money but to my surprise, I was told the money was no longer there.

“I enquired to know what happened but was told my account was hacked into. I wondered how an account that no other person had the details could be hacked into.

“When I contacted higher authorities in the bank, they investigated and my money was refunded.

“They did not tell me the result of their investigation but from their responses, it was an insider thing. I now ask, what if I didn’t know who to contact,’’ she said.

A former banker, Mr Louis Otagoro, appealed to the Chartered Institute of Bankers to ensure that only trained professionals practise in the industry.

“The CIBN should step up actions to ensure that banking profession does not become an all comers affair,’’ he said.

President of the CIBN, Ken Opara, said that the council was resolute and committed to the observance and maintenance of ethics and professionalism among practitioners in the banking industry.

Executive Vice Chairman of the FCCPC, Mr Babatunde Irukera, also said they were engaging with banks to address consumer-related issues.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had said that most banking fraud handled by the Commission showed that bank employees aided the acts.

Head of Cybercrime Section of the commission, Abbah Sambo, said that the acts were mostly perpetrated by insider Information, Communication Technology employees of banks.

He also expressed regret at the increasing rate of cybercrime in spite of best efforts by the Commission to tackle it.

Sambo observed that in years past, young people involved in cybercrime were not ICT savvy, but today, it is ICT graduates that were champions in perpetrating the crime.

-NAN

Related Topics:Banks. Illegal deductions Featured

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Your pension funds safe, won’t be accessed illegally, FG tells workers

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13 mins ago

May 17, 2024

Trends Admin

Your pension funds safe, won’t be accessed illegally, FG tells workers

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, says the Federal Government has no plans of illegally accessing the N20 trillion pension funds for infrastructure development.
He said noone should entertain any fear over the safety of the contributions of workers that make up the pension funds.
Edun had earlier said the spoken on a move to use the pension funds as part of the government’s efforts to bridge Nigeria’s estimated 20 million housing deficit, and provide massive housing and mortgage loans at 12 per cent interest rates, with 25-year repayment plans.
The minister’s comments had elicited serious reactions from notable groups and Nigerians, including the organised labour and a former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who advised the government to suspend the move.
Atiku said the move was potentially disastrous for retired Nigerians dependent on their pensions.
But in a statement personally issued on Thursday, Edun said the stories making the rounds that the government planned to illegally access the savings and pension contributions of workers were false.
He stated that the pension industry was guided by rules, adding that the government would be strictly guided by extant rules in accessing the pension funds of workers.
The minister stressed that government would not go outside the stipulated limitations on what the funds could be invested in.
The statement read in partu, “It has come to my notice that there are stories making the rounds that the Federal Government plans to illegally access the hard-earned savings and pension contributions of workers. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
“The pension industry, like most the financial industries, is highly regulated. There are rules. There are limitations about what pension money can be invested in and what it cannot be invested in.
“The Federal Government has no intention whatsoever to go beyond those limitations and go outside those bounds, which are there to safeguard the pensions of workers.
“What was announced to the Federal Executive Council was that there was an ongoing initiative drawing in all the major stakeholders in the long-term saving industry, those that handle funds that are available over a long period to see how, within the regulations and the laws, these funds could be used maximally to drive investment in key growth areas, including infrastructure, housing, and, of course, to find a way to provide Nigerians with affordable mortgages.
“Within this context, there is no attempt, nor is it being considered, to offer unsafe investments for pension funds or even insurance funds or any investment funds.
“No attempt whatsoever to increase the risk. No attempt whatsoever to lower the returns that would otherwise be earned.”

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Updated: We’ll resume Lagos-Dubai flights on October 1, says Emirates

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May 16, 2024

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Updated: We’ll resume Lagos-Dubai flights on October 1, says Emirates

Emirates Airlines on Thursday announced that its flight operations to Nigeria would resume on October 1, 2024.

It said this in a statement, “The service will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER. EK783 will depart Dubai at 0945hrs, arriving in Lagos at 1520hrs. The return flight EK784 will leave Lagos at 1730hrs and arrives in Dubai at 0510hrs the next day.

“Tickets can be booked now on Emirates.com or via travel agents.”

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Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, on Wednesday said the Emirates Airlines had given a definite date to resume flight operations to Nigeria and would make the announcement in a matter of days.

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Dollar crashes against Naira at official market

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1 day ago

May 16, 2024

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Dollar crashes against Naira at official market

The Naira on Wednesday appreciated at the official market, trading at N1,459.02 to the dollar.

Data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ Exchange, revealed that the Naira gained N61.38.

This represents a 4.04 per cent gain when compared to the previous trading date on Tuesday, when the local currency exchanged at N1,520.40 to a dollar.