Qasim Aribidesi, a Nigerian based in the United Kingdom, has narrated how he lost N298,000 after it was erroneously transferred into a Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) account.

Aribidesi had engaged the services of Adeyemi Adeyinka, a currency changer, on December 29, and asked him to transfer N298,000 to his GTB account. But Adeyinka erroneously transferred the amount into the account of Kadri Sule Sunday, another GTB customer.

To rectify the error, Aribidesi sent someone to lodge a complaint at the bank.

“Immediately I noticed, I sent someone to the bank to lodge a complaint,” he told FIJ. “The person I sent was told to get a court order, which she did. She was assured that the money was still in the account and a restriction had been placed on it.”

It soon emerged that before the erroneous transfer, Sunday was owing the bank N700,000 in the current account he held with the bank. However, Aribidesi’s money had been transferred to his savings account.

“They said he was owing in his current account but it entered his savings account.”

On January 7, he got a court order from a customary court in Ibadan to reverse the money. However, when the bank was contacted on the same day, he was told the money was no longer in the account.

FIJ made several calls to Cornelius Onuoha, a GTB spokesperson, but they were not answered. A mail sent to him was also not responded to, at press time.