Olusegun Fatunmbi, a Lagos State resident, has recounted how N191,200 mysteriously left his Polaris Bank account after his debit card got trapped in a First City Monument Bank (FCMB) ATM.

Fatunmbi told FIJ that the incident happened at one of FCMB’s branches in Palmgrove, Lagos State, on October 4.

READ ALSO: ‘Go to the CBN’, Says Polaris Bank After N91,900 Left Customer’s Account Without Her Consent

“My ATM card got stuck in an FCMB ATM in Palmgrove on October 4. I waited for about 30 minutes with the hope that the card would be released by the machine, but that did not happen,” Fatunmbi told FIJ.

“I had not left the ATM point when I received alerts for withdrawals totalling N191,200. This got me confused as I had not authenticated any transaction and my ATM card was still hooked in the machine.

“The transaction amounts that impacted my account are as follows: N10,200, N50,000, N50,000, N51,000 and N30,000.

“I lodged a complaint to Polaris Bank in Ilupeju/Oshodi on October 5 and their response was that the money was withdrawn via a POS machine.

“To me, this was an impossibility. It is not clear to me how the card could have been used to carry out POS transactions while still inside a bank’s ATM.”

Fatunmbi further stated that he visited Polaris Bank branches on many occasions to follow up on his complaint, but the bank did not do anything to help him resolve the matter.

“It is unkind that they keep telling me they are still reviewing the issue after the incident happened. I have gone there seven times and I am frustrated,” he said.

READ ALSO: A Widower’s Card Got ‘Swallowed’ By a Zenith Bank ATM. He Lost N217,600 Within 10 Mins

“The visits I’ve made to the bank have affected my job. I have been taking permissions at work and my frequent absence from the office has impacted my work output negatively.”

In an email Fatunmbi received from one of the bank’s officials, who simply identified herself as Bertha, the financial institution claimed it had reviewed transactions relating to him and that there was no record of such debits on his account on October 4.

However, when FIJ contacted Polaris Bank via email, attaching Fatunmbi’s statement of account showing that there were indeed debits on his account on the stated date, one of its officials, who simply introduced himself as Segun, said the issue would once again be reviewed.

“We advise that you kindly exercise patience for a possible manual reversal as your complaint will be reviewed further and feedback shall be communicated to you within the next 7 working days (excluding weekends and public holidays),” Segun wrote.