Babatunde Awosusi, an event decorator based in Ibadan, was left dumbfounded on May 17 when N218,000 vanished from his Guaranty Trust Bank (GT Bank) account.

Awosusi told FIJ he struggled to understand the depletion of his account balance because he acquired his ATM card the previous day.

Recounting the puzzling chain of events, Awosusi said he had collected a new ATM card from a GT Bank in Apata on May 16 and refrained from using the card that day.

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The following morning, Awosusi approached an ATM stand in Eleyele to withdraw cash, only to be confronted with a startling twist.

He said the machine would not dispense the money he sought but swallow his card.

Undeterred, Awosusi said he positioned himself expectantly before the ATM, hopeful for the eventual release of his card but his patience proved futile.

He said well-intentioned individuals who observed him advised him to seek help from any nearby GT Bank officer but he found no one.

“When I returned to the ATM, I was astounded to discover that my card remained trapped within the machine,” Awosusi told FIJ. “Within minutes, I began receiving debit alert notifications showing that someone was illicitly siphoning off my hard-earned money through a point of sale device.”

To curtail the financial ramifications of these unauthorised transactions, Awosusi said he transferred N100,000 to his wife’s account on the spot.

“I still wonder how a card acquired on May 16 could be compromised merely a day later, despite remaining within my personal possession,” he said.

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“I visited a GT Bank to request my account statement with the aim of identifying the recipient of the unauthorised transaction. But the bank advised him to await a 24-hour period.

“When I asked to review surveillance footage captured during my visit to the ATM, the bank’s presentation merely depicted an indistinct silhouette.”

FIJ reached out to GT Bank via email for comments but received no response from the bank at the time of publication.