A Guarantee Trust Bank customer from Gombe, Alhaji Mustapha Sanda, has been left in limbo after N750, 000 has been debited from his account without his authorisation, he told WikkiTimes.
Alh. Sanda said for about five consecutive months he has been struggling between his bank and offices of law enforcement agencies without any tangible success.
According to him, on the 12th of October 2024, he received multiple debit alerts from his GT bank account notifying him of the transaction that cumulatively stood at N750,000 withdrawn from his account.
He said that the incident occurred just 2 days before the bank commenced “an application maintenance”, which they announced earlier, that caused many customers to experience hitches on their bank app transactions around the period.
In an interview with WikkiTimes, Alh. Sanda said he did not at any point compromise his bank details. According to him, his ATM card, which was reportedly used for the transactions, was in his possession as of the time and has not surrendered it to anyone.
“I quickly reported to the bank, and I was asked to fill a form detailing my complaint which I did. My first instinct after I left the bank was to arrest the only POS guy I patronize. But even after that, it was confirmed that he had nothing to do with it,” he said.
GT Bank’s response
He noted that he was shocked two weeks later when he reported back to the bank, and he was told “the transaction was successful and there was nothing the bank could do about it.”
Alh Sanda noted that the bank’s response to the complaint was not helpful to his situation.
“I consulted with the bank manager, who emphasized that the bank cannot retrieve my money. But I did not share my bank details with anybody, it was all in their custody before this happened,” he decried.
The victim further noted that the narration of the transaction, which showed ‘BetNaija’ indicated that the money was withdrawn from a betting platform.
Allegations of Extortions
Alh. Sanda said having exhausted avenues with the GT Bank to recover his fund, he subsequently reported the incident to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) office in Gombe and the Nigeria Police for their intervention.
He noted that it took the EFCC two months to respond to his complaint, notifying him afterwards that they were working on it. After that, he got no respite from the anti-graft agency as he waited helplessly.
He also alleged that the betting station (BetNaija), through their agent in Gombe demanded money before releasing the identities of the scammers.
“The identity of the alleged fraudsters was traced to different states in the southern part of this country. I had to pay N20,000 per identity, totalling N100,000,” he disclosed.
Sanda told WikkiTimes that the alleged scammers are Ransome Mina Harry, Onyebuchi Stanislaus, Ezebire Justice and Awoga Aworinde who were traced to Lagos, Ogun and Anambra States as their locations.
He added that after contacting the Police in the various locations, he still had to bribe his way in an effort to locate the criminals.
“Only two persons have been taken into custody so far but only the sum of N100,000 has been recovered from the money,” he said.
He, however, expressed his frustration over the matter, saying the bank has caused him so much stress despite trusting them to keep his money safe.
WikkiTimes efforts to speak with the bank and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission proved abortive as messages sent were not replied to.
The police spokesperson in Gombe, Abdullahi Buhari, has also not responded to a WhatsApp message sent to him as of press time.
