January 13,2023

On March 7, 2020, N500,000 was deducted from the Zenith Bank account of Francis Eneji, an Abuja resident, without his consent. He has not been able to recover his money three years later.

Eneji told FIJ that he noticed a drop in his account balance when he opened Zenith Bank’s mobile app on that fateful day.

He also disclosed that Zenith Bank never sent him a debit alert via SMS or email for the money lost to an unauthorised transaction.

“Before the incident happened, I went to the bank in February with a complaint that I had stopped receiving SMS alerts despite being charged monthly for both SMS and email alerts,” said Eneji

“The customer care told me that email alert was more secure. The day my money went missing, I never received an alert. I only discovered the incident when I logged in to the mobile banking app.

“I could not go to the bank because it was a Saturday. When I went to the branch where I opened the account on Algeria street, Wuse Zone 4, on March 9, my account officer walked out on me as I was talking to her.

“She had earlier hung up the phone on me when I called her the day my money was taken. I only asked how the bank would help me, but she ended the call.

“I met with a customer care representative who asked me to fill a dispute form. They said my account was compromised. I told them I never gave anyone my card or token.”

According to Eneji, he was in his hotel room when the incident happened and his ATM card and token were with him on that day.

“The money was actually transferred to a Sportybet account. When I reached out to Sportybet, they revealed that the money was sent to an Ecobank account. They directed me to my bank and said my bank would contact the receiving bank,” the Abuja resident told FIJ.

Eneji said when he relayed the information he received from Sportybet, Zenith Bank told him they had no business with Ecobank.

He also noted that he went to an Ecobank branch in Abuja, where the manager said there were limits to the information he could provide to him.

“The branch manager said Zenith Bank was supposed to contact them. So I returned to my bank, but they have been telling me to come today and come tomorrow.

“At the end of the day, nothing has been done about it. Investigation has not been concluded till today.”

Meanwhile, Eneji is of the opinion that a Zenith Bank staff member could be responsible for the unauthorised transaction.

“Perhaps one of their staff members is responsible and they don’t want to expose the person,” Eneji said.

When contacted for comments, Tina​ Ojeagbase, Zenith Bank customer care representative, told FIJ to inform Omashi to contact the bank for assistance