…urges him to salvage his reputation
About 20 days after a customer of First City Monument Bank Plc, Mr. Kola Adepoju, raised the alarm over irregularities on his loan account with the bank and alleged fraudulent practices, the bank has allegedly continued to debit his account, acting as if nothing has happened.
The Point had on February 24, 2017, reported that some customers accused FCMB of carrying out alleged fraudulent activities on their loan accounts with the bank. Adepoju, who was one of the customers, had said that he obtained a loan of about N2.55 million from the bank in 2013, with the expiration tenor scheduled for late last year, but that a phantom loan top-up occured on his account.
He said he never applied nor requested for, and also never got to withdraw the loan, adding that his repayment tenor had also been extended to 2019. Another customer, Adekanmbi Charles, had complained that he obtained N1 million loan from FCMB around June/July 2013, with a tenor of 60 months, which was supposed to end around July 2018.
He had said that apart from extending the loan tenure to November, 2018, from the initial July, 2019 date, the interest had increased from the 23.95 per cent at the commencement of repayment to 26.95 per cent without explanation, despite being told by the loan officer that the rate would decrease as time goes on.
These cases, according to findings, were besides other complaints of loan fraud and illegal charges, especially in the Ijebu-Ode 2 branch of the FCMB, and similar complaints from various branches of the bank, just as other customers, after the story was broken by The Point, had also complained of similar treatment by the bank.
Experts have said that the bank should explain the justification for the increase in interest rate in the case of Adekambi, saying, however, that Adepoju’s case, as stated, was a clear case of fraud.
Adepoju said despite all efforts made by his lawyer, Olatunde Ola-Dada and Co, the bank had remained adamant and continued to act as if it was on the right path. His lawyer had in a letter entitled, ‘Fraudulent Debit, Charges and Interest on Account No 2122624017,” and dated November 9, 2016, drawn the attention of FCMB to the alleged fraudulent transaction, and demanded a N10 million compensation.
Adepoju, however, said that he would not relent until he got justice for the illegal deductions made on his account and for the trauma the bank’s actions had put him through.
He also called on the founder of the bank, Otunba Michael Subomi Balogun, to urgently intervene to stop the alleged fraudulent activities going on in the loans department of FCMB, to protect his reputation and integrity built over the years.
