Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) has come under severe criticism from Nigerians over the alleged theft of N3.1 million from the account of one of its customers, Banjo Adedayo.
According to the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), “Adedayo’s ordeal started on Monday, April 17, 2023, when some men forcefully collected his phone at his estate in Ogun State in the morning.”
He informed FIJ that, to prevent the potential loss of his funds, he promptly contacted his network provider to bar his line and informed GTBank to impose restrictions on his account.
“To be sure my account was safe, I inserted my GTBank ATM card into a machine to withdraw, but the machine said my account had been deactivated.
“The same thing was said when I inserted my Zenith Bank ATM card in it, and it was because I had blocked them both,” Adedayo told FIJ.
Three days later, Adedayo retrieved his SIM card and traveled to a GTBank branch in Ogun State to get the restriction lifted from his account, which he accomplished, but the next morning, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“I woke up to the rudest shock of my life on April 21,” Adedayo said.
“An email had popped up, and upon opening it, I saw that all my hard-earned N3,130,000 had been wiped out.
“I went to the bank to make complaints, and all they did was print me the statement of account. I went to the police and did all that I could but to no avail.”
In retrospect, Adedayo suspected foul play, speculating that the theft had been planned inside, given the password protection on his SIM card and the quick action to block his bank accounts.
“Could the thieves be waiting for me to retrieve my SIM? Even if they did, they would not be able to steal my money. It was an inside job. I remember I was tired at the bank and wanted to go home, but this female cashier kept urging me to be patient,” he recalled.
“Later that day, she contacted me using her number and did not discuss anything related to banking matters. The next morning, my funds were gone. I strongly suspect an insider’s hand in this. It’s been nearly a year, and I demand restitution,” Adedayo stated.
In response to the statement, Ishowleck Omo Iya Pupa called GTBank and other banks in the country “incompetent.”.
“How could N3. 1 million miss in someone’s account, and you can’t account for it.
“An account you charge monthly maintenance on,” he said.
“All these banks are just so incompetent, with no maximum security for their customers after charging them high for maintenance. The ordinary digital bank is doing better than them.
“Aside from them deducting your money, being quick to charge you excess, and stressing you out, they have no other benefits they give to people. GTBank is one of them,” he added.
Jagaban Olu alleged that GTBank and other banks in the country are renowned for “nefarious” practices. He called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to investigate the ‘unwholesome’ practice by banks.
Olu said, “Nigerian banks are a special case when it comes to nefarious practices like round-tripping, excessive charges, stealing from customer accounts, facilitating billion-dollar loans to politicians who have zero businesses, etc.
“EFCC should probe the banks just like they are doing with Binance! They should track where the forex they collect is going and how they facilitate corruption by some state institutions and governors.”
“GTB has too many incidences of these for it to be unintentional at this point. They should review their internal procedures because something is not working,” Taiwo, an X user, noted.
Recounting a personal experience, a man simply identified as Diekolola on x states that “N150k was stolen from mine late last year. GTbank claims to still be making investigations.”
Also recounting a personal experience, Charles Ugwueze notes, “Each time I lodge substantial amounts, I will be getting a fishy email.
“I once lost some money through their Twitter handle. The guy was pretending to be helping me until I unknowingly gave out information that finished me.”
Balogun Olusegun argued that banks in Nigeria steal from their unsuspecting customers.
“I once said these people steal from us. You will notice some N5, and N10 deductions without seeing any details as to why they were deducted.
“Imagine a number like that from millions of customers monthly. I do notice this from my GTBank account. Most people may not notice,” Olusegun stated.
Ace Vinci notes that “banks in Nigeria are cooperated armed robbers. They take money out of people’s accounts without explanation.
“If you call them out or sue them, you are still the one they will blame. A guy sent money to me, and when I checked it, the bank deducted my money without any reason.”
Osaze argues that GTBank “is a hacker’s delight.”
“They don’t want to admit their system is not foolproof. GTBank is a hacker’s delight. Their system is very vulnerable to hacks,” he said.
At the time of filing this report, GTbank had yet to comment on Banjo Adedayo’s alleged missing N3.1 million.
