…Customer narrates how he was fleeced of N51m in Kano
By Dayo Omoogun
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Abuja based Human Rights radion have entered into partnership to assist aggrieved bank customers resolve their complaints and banking infractions.
This disclosure was made by the Founder of the station and host of the Brekete Family Show, Mr. Ahmed Isah, on the live show on Thursday, in Abuja.
As part of the partnership, the bank will maintain a liason office at the station to gather customer complaints which will be promptly addressed by the bank and its officials will also feature regularly on the program.
The Head, Market Conduct Supervision of the apex bank, Mr. Ibrahim Yahaya, cautioned bank customers to be wary of who they disclose their bank information to, adding that it is the responsibility of customers to safeguard their details.
“There is no way a bank will request your bank details from you, never divulge your information to anybody.
If banks are under regulation, then you also have a responsibility to protect your bank details because if you disclose your details there is nothing the regulation or the regulator can do to protect you”, he said.
He also stated that there are CBN approved timelines within which complaints must be resolved failing which they should be escalated to the Central bank for resolution and appropriate sanctions on the defaulting bank.
He warned customers of the bank not to delay in reporting cases of infractions or complaints, adding that problems arising from the use of ATM cards and POS machines are to be resolved in a maximum time of 3 days.
A customer of the Kano branch of Stanbic Bank, narrated how his account officer allegedly forged his account and siphoned the whopping sum of N51 million into his own private company account.
According to the aggrieved customer, it was after the matter was brought to the notice of the apex bank, that the culprit refunded the sum of N10.8 million to him.
He lamented that efforts to press for the balance through the Central Bank Consumer Protection staff, the Police in Kano and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have met with brick walls.