N9.98m fraud: DVC drags bank to CBN

By Oluseye Ojo

A prominent Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) and award-winning Professor of Journalism has petitioned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over what he described as grossly unauthorised withdrawal of ₦9.98 million from his commercial bank account.

The petitioner accused the bank of systemic negligence and a lack of due care in protecting customer funds.

The dispute centres on two rapid-fire transactions executed on February 21, 2026, where nearly ₦10 million was moved to third-party’s fintech accounts within a 120-second window, which was described as a red flag by the Professor’s legal team, that further  argued that the manner of transactions should have triggered an immediate system freeze.

He accused the financial institution of failing to exercise due care and refusing to accept liability for the loss.

In a formal complaint dated March 26, submitted through his legal counsel, the petitioner is asking the apex bank to compel the bank to refund the full amount, investigate the security breach, and impose necessary sanctions.

According to the petition, ₦4.99 million was transferred at 10:19 a.m. to one Isah Ahmed Ahmed via Paga, followed by an identical ₦4.99 million transfer at 10:21 a.m. to Nasir Nasir Sanusi.

The don maintained that he neither authorised the transfers nor compromised his banking credentials. He insisted that he took all reasonable precautions. His lawyers stated the incident was promptly reported to the bank on February 24.

In a response received on March 20, the bank denied liability. It claimed the transactions were duly authenticated using the customer’s login details and PIN, adding that it acted on a ‘best-effort’ basis to restrict the funds, which had already been dissipated through cryptocurrency platforms.

However, the petitioner’s counsel described this position as ‘legally indefensible,’ arguing that modern banking standards require robust, multi-layered fraud detection, capable of flagging suspicious patterns, such as two near-identical high-value transfers to new beneficiaries within minutes.

“There is no evidence whatsoever of customer negligence,” the petition stated, asserting that the burden of liability remains with the institution.

The petitioner, apart from seeking a directive for a full refund, is also demanding a forensic report explaining how the breach occurred to ensure continued public confidence in the banking system.