By Springnewsng Media Limited
March 25, 2025

A Fidelity Bank customer, Ubrure Jite, has accused the bank of unlawfully withholding her funds and demanding a bribe before releasing them. Her husband, Patrick Majekodunmi Benjamin, raised the allegations, claiming that an Operations Manager at the bank’s University of Benin (UNIBEN) branch,http://University of Benin (UNIBEN) branch, identified as Nosa, refused to release the funds without justification.

Allegations of Deliberate Withholding

Patrick explained that on March 14, he and his wife visited the Fidelity Bank branchhttp://Fidelity Bank branch to receive money sent via Remitly. However, bank officials initially cited a discrepancy in Jite’s middle name and instructed the sender to correct it. Once the correction was made and confirmed, they expected to receive the funds without further delay.

“After the correction, Nosa, the Operations Manager, only gave me a part of the funds and instructed me to return on Monday, March 17, to collect the remaining balance,” Patrick stated.

However, when he returned as instructed, Nosa refused to release the remaining money, claiming he was uncomfortable with the transfer because the sender’s name was foreign.

Escalation to Bank Headquarters

Patrick, sensing foul play, escalated the matter to Fidelity Bank’s headquarters. Despite providing all necessary documents, including BVN, NIN, transaction reference numbers, and telex copies, the headquarters merely referred him back to the same UNIBEN branch.

On March 20, a regional staff member intervened, forwarding Patrick’s complaint to the branch manager (BM). The BM, after reviewing the case on March 21, instructed Nosa to apologize and release the funds. However, Nosa refused to apologize and allegedly resumed obstructing the process once the BM left for a meeting.

Alleged Bribe Request

Patrick claims that after the BM’s departure, Nosa made remarks implying that a bribe was expected before releasing the funds.

“He said, ‘Do the needful.’ ‘You know how these things are done.’ ‘The sender’s name is a foreign name,’” Patrick alleged, interpreting this as an attempt at extortion.

Funds Withheld Without Legal Justification

Despite direct orders from Fidelity Bank’s management, the funds remained withheld. Patrick questioned why part of the money—₦123,000 out of approximately ₦1.4 million—was initially released if the bank suspected fraud.

“If fraud were genuinely suspected, why did they release part of the money and only block the rest after I escalated the issue?” Patrick asked.

He also revealed that Fidelity Bank’s headquarters later admitted that an internal report from Nosa contained errors, further raising doubts about the legitimacy of the refusal to release the money.

Fidelity Bank’s Response

When contacted, Fidelity Bank provided a statement citing a caution from Remitly. The statement claimed that the transactions should be rejected because the beneficiary did not know the sender.

“We were not able to get in contact with the sender to validate the information. Please reject the transactions since the beneficiary does not know the sender,” the statement read.

Patrick, however, insisted that he had spoken with the sender, who had followed the bank’s guidance on correcting transaction details. He also noted that the sender had inquired about opening a corporate account with Fidelity Bank.

Unresolved Questions

Patrick continues to demand the release of the funds, asserting that all regulatory requirements have been met. The case raises concerns about transparency and accountability within Fidelity Bank’s operations, particularly regarding potential misconduct by its staff.

As of now, Fidelity Bank has not issued further clarification on the matter.