Wednesday’s protest at the corporate headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) brought to the fore the heightening fraudulent activities in Nigerian banks.
Hundreds of protesters, under the aegis of a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs), on Wednesday, October 8, protested against banks’ fraudulent practices that are leaving customers victimised.
The protesters were seen displaying placards with inscriptions “conspiracy”, “forgery”, “criminal breach of trust”, “taking a loan is not a crime”, “stop suffocating your customers”, and “make loan repayment transparent”, among others.
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Reportedly led by Flora Elekwa, director of mobilisation and advocacy of the CSO, the protesters conveyed that the trend of fraudulent activities occasioned by unwarranted deductions by banks is becoming alarming and portrays the Nigerian banking sector in a bad light.
“These charges amount to a loss of millions of naira by bank customers, to the effect that banks declare trillions yearly as profit at the detriment of the customers who lacked the voice to complain.
“Even the regulatory agencies seem to be helpless in this situation.
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“The street protest and advocacy march are aimed at drawing the attention of the government, regulatory authorities, and the general public to these unwholesome, illegal practices with a view to rectifying the situation,” Elekwa was quoted as saying.
Bank fraud on the rise
Pinnacle Daily reports that the picketing of CBN at its headquarters in Abuja reflects the heightening fraudulent activities being perpetrated in the Nigerian bank, leading the bank to record losses in billions of naira due to fraudulent activities.
According to a report by the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), fraud and forgery activities perpetrated across banking platforms in Nigeria surged to a N42.6 billion loss in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024.
It rose from a N468.4 million loss in the first quarter, and significantly from a N9.4 billion loss in the whole of 2023.
The FITC revealed this in its Q2 2024 Fraud and Forgeries report released on Saturday, September 14, 2024.
UBA reported N2.4bn fraud activities in 6 months
Between January and June this year, United Bank for Africa (UBA) recorded approximately N2,401 billion fraud activities, declaring a N288 million in actual loss.
According to the pan-African bank, the fraud activities happened 13,616 times, arising from electronic fraud, cash theft/suppression, fraudulent transfer, fraudulent account opening, and forged cheques.
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In 2024, UBA got a N149.65 million fine for various contraventions, including failing to comply with banking regulations.
It got N122 million in sanctions for inadequate documentation and update of customer accounts and transactions, and N16 million for consumer complaints resolved by the consumer protection department.
Other penalties included N9.65 million for submitting its cybersecurity self-assessment report late, and N2 million for wrongly selling personal travel allowance to two customer accounts.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
