Lagos Technician Accuses Zenith Bank of Failing to Refund N249,500 Transferred Without Authorisation

Ojuede Ojuejo (a pseudonym), a technician based in Lagos, has accused Zenith Bank of failing to refund N249,500 transferred from his account to another recipient without his authorisation.

According to the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Ojuejo said he had visited the bank on several occasions and had been seeking a refund for more than a year, without success.

He said the issue started on January 17, 2025, when he received several one-time passwords (OTPs) on his phone. While trying to understand the messages, he received a debit alert of N249,500.

Ojuejo said he attempted to reach Zenith Bank via its customer service line, but the call did not connect. He added that follow-up emails to the bank also received no response.

He said he visited a Zenith Bank branch in Agege the following day, where a staff member attributed the incident to a compromised card. Ojuejo disputed the claim, insisting his card remained in his possession throughout.

He recalled that the staff member at the counter said he should have contacted the bank immediately he started receiving the OTPs. When he explained that his calls were not connecting, she asked him to return after two working days.

“I went back there, but the customer care representative told me she had sent an email on the matter but hadn’t got a response. She also deactivated my card and every form of alert. She then said I should check back in another two working days, which I did,” Ojuejo told FIJ.

He said when he returned to the branch in March 2025, he expressed frustration over the delay, but the situation remained unchanged.

Ojuejo said he later escalated the matter to the branch’s Head of Operations, who after listening to his complaint, asked him to return after two working days. On his return, she reportedly told him the incident was not the bank’s fault.

“I then told her I suspected a bank official did this. She asked me, ‘Why did you come to my branch? Why didn’t you go to another branch?’ The bank staff then told me that if I wanted to pursue the matter further, I should go to the branch where I opened the account in Sango, Ogun State. I got angry and left,” he said.

FIJ said it emailed Zenith Bank about the matter on September 7, but as of press time, the bank had not responded.