FIRST BANK REFUSES TO REFUND 8.5MILLION WITHDRAWN FROM OCTOGENERAIN RETIREE’S ACCOUNT BY ITS STAFF

First Bank of Nigeria is yet to make a N10.5 million refund to Sule Fabiyi, a septuagenarian who resides in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

Fabiyi had used the N10.5 million as capital for a fixed deposit investment with the bank in 2019, but the sum was later mismanaged and stolen in 2022 by Abdulwahab Sani Shehu, one of the financial institution’s business bankers.

In an interview with FIJ on Saturday afternoon, Fabiyi said First Bank has still not credited his account with the sum.

“My N10.5 million is still with First Bank. The Bank, has refused to return the money to my account,” said Fabiyi.

“The financial institution has refused to do the needful. It has refused to pay me back my N10.5 million; my hard-earned savings.

“The bank doesn’t even respond to my correspondence any more. A sum I left in its care since September 2019. Is that fair?”

BACKGROUND

On August 24, FIJ reported how Shehu terminated and subsequently mismanaged the N10.5 million fixed deposit investment Fabiyi had started with First Bank in 2019.

On July 7, Fabiyi received a N500,000 fund transfer from a personal account belonging to Shehu, and this led to the septuagenarian visiting the bank’s branch in Osogbo to find out what was going on with his investment.

While at the branch, Fabiyi was told that Shehu had terminated his investment without his consent since 2022.

It was also revealed to him that the business banker had diverted the septuagenarian’s N10.5 million into some sort of investment or activity he had no knowledge of.

First Bank later terminated Shehu’s appointment, but refused to refund Fabiyi’s N10.5 million to him.

FIJ sent an email to First Bank for a reaction to Fabiyi’s claim at the time, but it was never responded to.

To date, Shehu is nowhere to be found.

FIJ understands that per common law, the bank is vicariously liable for the actions of its staff while in their employ. Despite this, the bank is yet to take responsibility and compensate Fabiyi.