First Bank Headquarters Photo First Bank
By Victory Oghene
In the last couple of months, one of the old generation banks, First Bank, had experienced system glitches that culminated into losing millions of naira.
NATIONAL WAVES investigations revealed that First Bank experienced a system glitch which it erroneously credited the sum of ₦1.3 billion to the account of Ojo Eghosa Kingsley who transferred a good percentage of the money to the bank accounts of his mother, Itohan Ojo, and his sister, Edith Okoro Osaretin, and committed part of the money to completion of his building project and the funding of a new flamboyant lifestyle.
It took the intervention of the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission before the sum of ₦802,420,00 was recovered from Ojo Eghosa Kingsley.
Confirming the development via a statement, the EFCC via its official X account, said the money was recovered from Ojo Eghosa Kingsley, who allegedly took unlawful possession of over ₦1.3 billion belonging to the bank.
According to the EFCC, the bank had reported that system glitches which led to Kingsley’s account being erroneously credited with the amount.
As if that’s not enough to make some customers of First Bank sleep with one eye closed, a customer of the bank, Monday Joyce Chidinma, publicly accused the bank of failing to reverse over ₦331,000 from two unsuccessful transactions despite repeated complaints.
The customer, identified on X (formerly Twitter) as Joycemart alleged that ₦303,112.50 from a transaction conducted through the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) had remained unreversed for eight days.
She further claimed that a separate Point-of-Sale (POS) transaction involving ₦28,000 had also remained unresolved for two weeks.
In a post directed at the bank, she wrote: “@FirstBankngr Today is making 8 days since I carried out a transaction using PAPSS and I have not gotten a reversal of ₦303,112.50. Also I have a POS and this is 2 weeks since I carried out a transaction on the POS and no reversal of my ₦28,000. @cenbank need to step in.”
The customer urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to intervene in the matter.
Under the CBN’s Consumer Protection Framework, financial institutions are expected to investigate and resolve customer complaints within stipulated timelines, depending on the nature of the transaction. Delays in transaction reversals have remained a recurring concern for bank customers, particularly where electronic payment channels are involved.
It took First Bank several days before it reverted the sum of ₦300,000.00 out of the ₦303,112.50 making the customer to inquire what happened to the balance of her money.
