Paul Odukaobi, a printer based in Burkina Faso, has described how an Access Bank branch in Somolu, Lagos State, failed to release a CCTV recording that could have been used in finding the person who stole his phone.

Paul told FIJ that he had gone to the bank on July 26, 2022, and left his mobile phone on the counter for a few seconds to return a pen to a fellow customer, only to return and not find his phone.

He said the phone, an Infinix Hot 11, had important files and vital information.

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He hurried to the bank’s security unit to ask for CCTV footage to help track down the thief but was told there was no CCTV footage. A security official also immediately referred him to the bank manager, who urged him to first report the incident to the police before any action.

The following day, Paul hurried to the Alade Police Station in Somolu to file a report as directed by the bank manager. He was then accompanied by a police officer back to the bank.

The bank manager asked him to send an email to the Access Bank head office, and he did with his brother’s email address.

“Even after going to the bank with a police officer, I still wasn’t given the CCTV footage. Instead, the bank manager still asked me to send an email to their head office, which I did, and I got a response mail saying that they would assist me. Still, nothing has been done,” he said.

“Several attempts that have been made, including meeting with the branch manager to release the footage clip, proved abortive,” he said.

When speaking with FIJ, the policewoman who accompanied Paul to the bank revealed that she had expressed her dissatisfaction with the bank. She said they should have at least shown her the CCTV footage after seeing a police officer.

“I asked the bank manager to show me the footage since I am a police officer, so that I could at least be sure that the phone actually got missing in the bank, but they refused; they insisted that Mr. Paul write a letter to their head office,” she said.

“I was so disappointed that day and I felt pity for Paul. They should have at least let him see the person that stole the phone, just maybe the police could track him down.”

A respectable bank, in the police officer’s opinion, would have promptly given Paul access to the CCTV footage as soon as he raised the alarm.

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Abdul Imoyo, Access Bank’s spokesperson, told FIJ that the bank was actively addressing the problem and asked that the customer exercise patience.