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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has declared that its newly strengthened legal powers have made it impossible for those responsible for bank failures to evade accountability, ensuring swifter redress for depositors.
Speaking during a courtesy visit from the President of the Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN), Mr. Chimezie Victor Ihekweazu (SAN) and his council to NDIC headquarters in Abuja, NDIC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Thompson Oludare Sunday said the Corporation is now fully equipped to enforce bank liquidation mandates effectively.
“With the enactment of the NDIC Act 30 of 2023 and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, the Corporation now has stronger legal backing to prosecute parties at fault in bank failures.
“Individuals no longer hide behind loopholes to escape liability. Today, many approach the NDIC to settle voluntarily, aware that the noose is tightening”, he explained.
He praised the National Assembly for addressing the long-standing gaps in deposit insurance law, and the judiciary for demonstrating growing expertise in the sector. According to Mr. Sunday, these developments have enabled NDIC to secure effective court rulings that restore funds to depositors of failed banks.
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Highlighting the practical impact of the strengthened framework, Mr. Sunday pointed to NDIC’s ability to declare a first round of liquidation dividends to uninsured depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank Limited within just one year of licence revocation.
“This milestone reflects the positive influence of the new legal framework and shows that the NDIC is increasingly able to protect the interests of depositors efficiently,” he said, adding that collaboration with BRIPAN and other stakeholders remains central to enhancing operational effectiveness.
In response, Mr. Ihekweazu commended NDIC’s proactive stance and highlighted BRIPAN’s role in harmonising insolvency and business recovery laws into a unified framework, a move that has significantly improved resolution practices.
He urged both institutions to strengthen collaboration, continue capacity building, and develop robust systems to ensure that insolvency and business recovery processes in Nigeria are more efficient and investor-friendly.
“By working closely together, NDIC and BRIPAN can ensure that failed institutions are swiftly resolved, depositors protected, and confidence restored in the banking system,” Mr. Ihekweazu said.
With these developments, NDIC said it has signaled a new era of accountability in Nigeria’s banking sector, where the days of evasion are numbered, and depositors can expect faster, fairer outcomes when banks collapse.
