Published 26th Dec, 2022

By Joseph Adeiye

First Bank plc has refunded Muibat Olayemi, a Lagos coconut trader, with N905,000 after the amount went missing from her bank account in October.

Jamiu Olayemi, Muibat’s son, confirmed the refund to FIJ on Monday, saying “I’m so delighted to inform you that N905,000 has been credited to my mum’s account.”

“After your story, the bank told me to wait for a while. They informed me that they would call me when the money was recovered. The call never came. I kept on going to their office and making calls.

“I called the bank on Friday, and they informed me that the money had been returned. My mum confirmed the refund afterwards.

“Certainly, this would have been impossible without your help. My mum is very grateful and full of joy again. We want to say a big thank you. Thank you.”

FIJ had reported how Muibat lost about N900,000 in her First Bank savings account due to negligence on the bank’s part.

“A man came to my mother’s shop claiming to work with Airtel. He asked my mother for her phone and said he wanted to do something about her NIN. My mom had been having issues with her phone. She could make calls but couldn’t receive calls. So, she innocently gave the man her phone. This was on October 10. I don’t know what he did to the phone, but my mother found out that about N190,000 had been deducted from her bank account when she went there the following day,” Jamiu had told FIJ.

Jamiu advised his mother to tell her bank to freeze the account after she informed him of the missing funds. When they went to the bank branch to retrieve the bank statement, the bank unfroze the bank account.

About N900,000, the funds left in the bank account, was siphoned by unknown criminals. Muibat had been distraught by the loss of her funds.

The bank finally returned Muibat’s stolen N905,000 several weeks later.

Editor’s Note: Picture used for illustrative purposes only

This report was produced with support from the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under the Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability project (CMEDIA) funded by the MacArthur Foundation

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