Mr. Praise Oweifie Tokoni, a customer of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has demanded the bank to refund the sum of N440, 000.00 it illegally deducted from his account.
Tokoni also gave the bank a 7-day ultimatum to credit his account with the said sum, or face prosecution from his legal team.
The customer stated he was taken aback when he got a debit alert of N440, 000.00 from his FCMB current account number: 7015137023 at about 3:02pm on August 11, 2021.
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A check further showed that the money was withdrawn using a Point of Sale (POS) machine, even while the customer had his debit cards in his pocket at home.
“Our client had been very careful in keeping his ATM card, PIN and other banking documents safe and wondered how his money could have been withdrawn without disclosing his personal information to anyone,” Tokoni’s lawyers at LexPoint Solicitors stated.
Tokoni had threatened legal action against the bank in a letter through his legal team if the said money is not returned to his account in seven days.
“Consequent upon the foregoing, we hereby demand that the sum of Four Hundred and Forty Thousand Naira (N440,000.00) that was illegally withdrawn from our client’s account on the 11th of August, 2021, be returned to our client’s account by your bank within seven (7) days of the receipt of this letter of demand.
“Take notice that upon your refusal, neglect or omission in complying with this demand, we shall seek legal redress against your bank at the courts where we shall be asking for damages.
“Perhaps, it is hoped that with this kind of bold step taken by Mr. Tokoni to reclaim his money, the FCMB and peradventure most Nigerian banks should put mechanisms and proactive measures in place towards safeguarding customers’ deposits.
“This is because the news of fraudulent withdrawals from customers’ accounts without their knowledge is becoming rampant and something urgent and punitive needs to be done to reduce mistrust of the banking system”, they said.
