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A promise by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through its consumer protection department to help resolve customers’ complaints against banks over unauthorised or illegal funds withdrawals from their accounts is currently being tested in the case of a university deputy vice chancellor who lost about N10 million in his accounts with Guaranty Trust Bank, a member of holding company Guaranty Trust Company Plc (GTCO).
Popoola Olumuyiwa, a professor of journalism, communication and media studies and the deputy vice chancellor of Ajayi Crowther University, had reported two unauthorised and fraudulent withdrawals of N4.99 million each totalling N9.98 million from his account with the Oyo branch of Guaranty Trust Bank in Oyo State, to the bank via a petition sent by his lawyers. Following a lack of response in line with CBN’s guidelines, another petition was sent to the apex bank’s consumer protection department for the regulator’s involvement.
Now, further communications seen by Business a.m. show that senior level officials of both GTB and the CBN are fully aware of the situation and the communications appear to suggest that they are may be working on the case but rather draggingly, which a few analysts say is rather strange giving that technology can be used to resolve the matter speedily and efficiently.
The apex bank had made promises to bank customers through its “Bill of Rights and Duties” including promising to protect them against illegal withdrawals and unauthorized debits by enforcing strict refund policies, enhancing consumer protection, and imposing sanctions on banks that fail to resolve complaints.
In one clause in its bill of rights and duties, the CBN’s ‘The Right to Redress’ states that: “A bank must provide its customers a redress mechanism to express their displeasure or grievance. The mechanism must be free, accessible, transparent, timely and convenient. You have a right to efficient complaints management system through which you can lodge complaints against your bank. You also have the right to be kept abreast of resolution process (acknowledgement, feedback, updates, explanation) and ultimately, basis of decision. Where you are not satisfied with the decision of your bank, you have the right of review either by your bank, the CBN or the court.”
In recent further assurances, the CBN had stated as its “key promises and measures”, the following:
- Immediate investigation & refund: The CBN has forced banks to refund billions of Naira to customers for failed transactions and unauthorised debits.
- 2-Week Resolution Deadline: Banks are required to resolve customer complaints within two weeks. If they fail to do so, the complaint can be escalated to the Consumer Protection Department (CPD) of the CBN.
- Strict Penalties for Banks: Banks found guilty of aiding illegal activities, such as diverting funds or illegal charges, face severe sanctions, including significant fines.
- Enhanced Security Focus: The CBN is implementing AI-driven systems to identify unusual financial patterns and illegal activities to prevent fraud.
The first petition filed by lawyers to the university administrator and professor was dated February 21, 2026, the same day that he noticed the illegal withdrawals had been made on his account. When a response was not received in line with the CBN guidelines, a further petition was escalated to the apex bank on March 26, 2026, more than a month after GTB had been contacted.
The lawyers asked the CBN to compel GTB to refund the full amount, investigate the security breach, and impose necessary sanctions as contained in its guidelines or Bills of Rights.
Detailing the nature of the illegal withdrawals, they stated that N4.99 million was transferred at 10:19 a.m. to one Isah Ahmed Ahmed via Paga, followed by an identical N4.99 million transfer at 10:21 a.m. to Nasir Nasir Sanusi.
Pooola Olumuyiwa insists that he did not authorise the transfers, nor did he compromise his banking credentials, adding that he has always taken all reasonable precautions.
GTB had denied liability in a terse March 20 response to the petition, claiming that the transactions were duly authenticated using the customer’s login details and PIN, and that it acted on a ‘best-effort’ basis to restrict the funds, which had already been dissipated through cryptocurrency platforms.
Lawyers to the university professor described the bank’s position as ‘legally indefensible,’ arguing that modern banking standards require robust, multi-layered fraud detection, capable of flagging suspicious patterns, such as two near-identical high-value transfers to new beneficiaries within minutes.
“There is no evidence whatsoever of customer negligence,” they noted in the petition to the CBN, and asserted that the burden of liability lies with GTB.
Business a.m. understands that direct behind-the-scenes communications and contacts with GTB and the CBN initially showed sympathy and a willingness to resolve the matter, but that this soon went cold and a hardened posture not to take responsibility to resolve has taken hold.
For instance, an initial direct response from someone who introduced himself as group head, marketing, south west, GTB, pleaded with the petitioner, and suggested that based on an initial recommendation by an internal team, he would be refunded. But this eventually did not happen.
While observing CBN’s 14-day mandatory wait period for banks to complete investigations into frauds like this, communications show that GTB’s legal department made several promises to send a favourable response to the petitioner’s lawyer, only for the terse response that simply he would not be refunded because the bank was not liable.
Further communications with senior management of the bank revealed promises to look into the professor’s case with one particular representative of the management reaching out to offer apologies on March 29, 2026, and promising that they would get back in 48 hours. When this did not materialise as promised, another communication was made with executive management of the bank following which a response came and disclosed that the CBN had already initiated its own investigation.
Without any resolution coming from GTB and industry regulator, CBN, the matter has also been taken before the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) with the petitioner hoping that the commission can act swiftly, especially since the accounts that received the professor’s money have been traced to two financial institutions.
Nearly eight weeks since the professor of journalism, communications and media saw the fraudulent and devastating withdrawal of almost N10 million from his account with Guaranty Trust Bank, he remains in limbo waiting to hear from GTB and CBN on the restitution of his funds so he can move on with his life.
