January 14,2023

“I am so helpless right now. N133,000 was deducted from my Zenith Bank account last year. The money was for my tuition, but it is gone, and Zenith Bank has done nothing to help me.”

Those were the words of James Emeka (real name withheld), a final year Pharmacy student at the Anambra State College of Health Technology (ASCOHT).

Emeka told FIJ that the money was deducted from his Zenith Bank account on November 11, 2022, without his authorisation

“I really hustled to get that amount for my school fee. I sell sneakers even as a student, and it’s not been easy.”

Emeka said he visited two branches of the bank on the day of the incident to lodge a complaint.

He said even after several messages to the bank’s email address and social media pages, Zenith Bank had not done anything to recover his money

“They were just turning me around at the bank when I went there in November, especially at the first branch in Nkpor,” he said.

“The manager of the second branch at Main Market said someone created a new mobile log-in and transferred the money to Paystack.

“How can a bank allow such to happen to its customer? I am sure one of the staff members of the bank is behind this. They said it’s under investigation, but it’s been two months now.”

Emeka told FIJ that he just wanted his money from Zenith Bank so that he could pay his tuition as his examination would soon start

“I don’t know what else to do again. I’m running out of time. According to the exam timetable, exams would start on January 17, and I can’t do exams without paying my school fee,” said Emeka.

When contacted for comments, Zenith Bank asked FIJ to provide a screenshot of the debit alert to enable the bank review the claim and assist.

After FIJ forwarded the screenshot of the deduction, the bank said, “We implore the customer to engage us for review and advise