Wema Bank Plc has reportedly fallen victim to a system glitch that has resulted in the loss of a portion of its customers’ funds.
The bank is now taking steps to recover and return the money to its rightful owners, an estimated N888.3 million.
In pursuit of this goal, Wema Bank has filed a case with the Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking a preservative order that would obligate around 26 financial institutions to return the lost funds traced to accounts within their purview.
According to an affidavit submitted by Wema Bank’s Head of Special Review and Investigation, Mr. Kehinde Buari, the unauthorized withdrawal occurred on January 16, 2025, as a result of an operational failure in the bank’s core system.
Investigations conducted by the bank revealed attempts by some recipients to conceal or transfer the illicitly obtained funds across multiple accounts.
In response, Wema Bank promptly notified the relevant financial institutions about the glitch and fraudulent transactions, urging them to restrict and sequester the affected accounts.
It said these banks were cooperative as they helped to freeze N888.3 million after the support of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) to track the funds.
The old generation bank, led by Mr Moruf Oseni, said it now seeks a directive of the court to have the money and others that may further be recovered returned to its customers’ accounts.
It also begged the court to mandate the placement of affected account holders on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Credit Risk Management System and other financial watchlists through their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) until the full recovery of the lost funds.
