A University of Lagos (UNILAG) don, Dr. Oluwatosin Sanu has sued eight commercial banks for alleged internet fraud on her bank accounts.
In a writ of summon filed by her counsel, Prof. Akin Ibidapo Obe before a Lagos High Court, Dr. Sanu, who is an associate professor and Consultant Orthodontist in the Faculty of Dental Sciences at University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH), is asking for N55,050,237.54 being special general and exemplary damages for alleged negligence in the handling of her two bank accounts with the first defendant bank.
The claimant also asked the court for cost of the action which she assessed at N2million.
The claimant alleged that the negligence on her account by the first defendant bank resulted in unauthorised withdrawals of N3,050,237.54 from her two accounts through the internet and unauthorised payments into beneficiary accounts domiciled in the eight defendant banks.
The claimant also prayed the court for interest to be calculated on the lost sum at the prevailing rate as from September 6, last year to the date of judgment.
The defendants bank include United Bank for Africa Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Diamond Bank of Nigeria Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Enterprise Bank Plc, Access Bank of Nigeria Plc and Stanbic IBTC Bank.
The writ of summons is supported by a 49-paragraph statement of claim and a 70-paragraph affidavit made on oath in support of the statement of claims.
She alleged that 20 unauthorised withdrawals totaling N2,580,693.25 was made from her current account with the first defendant, number 1002717118 between September 3 and September 6, last year.
She further alleged that eight unauthorised withdrawals totaling N469,134 was also made from her Gold Savings account with the first defendant, number 2060668002 between August 23, 2013 and September 5, 2013.
The claimant averred in the statement of claim that following a petition on the matter dated October 30, last year, made to the Nigerian Police, a thorough investigation was conducted into the alleged internet fraud on her two accounts.
The Police, she claimed issued a report ascribing the loss to negligence and collusion of the first defendant’s servants.
The claimant stated that on August 10, last year, she travelled to United States for a conference and vacation and that while there, received a call from her daughter, Dr. Sope Akeredolu, informing her that her bank account officer at the first defendant’s bank, Mr. Olatunbosun Alakija had been trying to reach her on phone without success.
She said that when he eventually got through to her on telephone, she was told that there were purported “transactions” going on in her bank accounts but that no details was given.
She claimed to have repudiated the transactions as not coming from her, more so that her cheque book and ATM card were with her in the US.
On her return from the US, she met with her account officer and branch manager, Mrs. Patricia Ozukwe.
She said she was told that a total transfer of N3,050,237.54 had been made on her account to various purported beneficiary accounts through the bank’s internet banking transaction.
The claimant alleged that the first defendant breached the duty of care owed her and was negligent in the management of her accounts when it facilitated such huge withdrawals without her knowledge and authorisation.
According to her, the first defendant or its internet banking officer ought prudently and reasonably to have contacted her through telephone,sms or electronic mail for her authorisation of the internet withdrawals, particularly where huge sum was withdrawn from her two accounts through multiple transactions in one day.
For instance, she said N650,850.50 was withdrawn from her current account in six transactions on September 4, last year; that N660,992.25 was withdrawn from the same account in seven separate internet transactions in one day on September 5, last year while in her Gold savings account, a sum of N451,567 was withdrawn in four transactions on August 23, last year, among other internet withdrawals.
The claimant averred that contrary to the statement of the accounts, the report of the Customer Fulfillment Centre(CFC) did not capture some of the purported withdrawal transactions.
The claimant said she wrote a formal letter of complaint dated September 17, last year to the manager of the Idi-Araba branch of the first defendant, repudiating the unauthorised purported transactions on her two accounts and asked for the reinstatement of the funds but that nothing was done on her request for refund.
She claimed that her solicitor also wrote to the managing director of the first defendant, copied the Idi-Araba branch, on the issue on September 26 consequent upon which the first defendant implored the claimant’s counsel to stay action on the matter pending investigation into the allegations. She averred that on October 3, last year, the service manager of the first defendant, one Mr. Johnson Onyiriuka rather sent an electronic mail directly to her that her “issue” (complaint) had been “closed”, adding that the first defendant breached its duty of care owed her by sending the said electronic mail dated October 3.
It said the email communication of the Service Manager caused the claimant to needlessly undergo pain, suffering and trauma that her loss was irreversible, adding that it was also “deliberate and contrived to intimidate the claimant into abject submission and to accept her “fate”.
She averred that her counsel again attempted to work out an amicable resolution by writing another letter dated October 28, last year to the Manager of the Audit and Compliance unit of the first defendant requesting him to intervene but that no response had been received from the unit up till date.
She said the development informed the petition sent to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Division (CID), Panti to investigate the matter.
The court is yet to fix a date for the hearing of the suit.
