[dropcap]T[/dropcap]unde Oyeniran, the Chief Executive Officer of Ekini White Tulip Consulting Limited, has expressed deep frustration over First Bank’s failure to lift a restriction placed on his company’s account since 2021.
The restriction was initially imposed without any prior communication, leaving Oyeniran and his company in a prolonged state of uncertainty.
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In 2021, Oyeniran discovered that his company’s account had been restricted due to the absence of a Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering (SCUML) certificate, a requirement that had not been communicated to him when the account was opened in August 2020.
In an attempt to resolve the issue, a client unknowingly paid N160,000 into the restricted account for consultancy services. Despite repeated efforts, Oyeniran has been unable to access the funds or transfer them out of the account. Meanwhile, the bank continued to send monthly statements, showing no indication of the restriction.
After a lengthy process, Oyeniran finally obtained the SCUML certificate in July 2024, only to face further delays. Although he promptly presented the certificate to the bank, the account remained inaccessible due to a series of bureaucratic hurdles.
The bank first claimed that the account had become dormant, requiring reactivation, which entailed filling out multiple forms and submitting a passport photograph.
Despite receiving an email on July 17, 2024, confirming that the account was active, Oyeniran was informed that the bank could not upload the SCUML certificate due to a software migration.
Further complications arose when the bank claimed there were inconsistencies in the company’s registration details with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), despite having collected N10,000 for verification when the account was created in 2020.
Oyeniran’s attempts to escalate the matter from the customer relations officer to higher levels of management have only resulted in more frustration and delays.
To compound the issue, an email sent to the bank’s complaints management unit bounced back, indicating that the email address provided on the bank’s website was invalid.
This ongoing ordeal has raised serious concerns about First Bank’s handling of the situation, with Oyeniran questioning the bank’s transparency, efficiency, and commitment to resolving customer issues.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
