Businessman Prince Samuel Adedoyin denounces NDIC’s “false and biased” publication on City Express Bank, demands its withdrawal

Prince Samuel Adedoyin NDIC report has stirred controversy after the Nigerian businessman and former Chairman of the defunct City Express Bank denounced what he described as a false, biased, and defamatory publication by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

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The statement titled “Failure of City Express Bank” was published on the NDIC’s website, alleging financial mismanagement and governance failures at the defunct institution.

Through his solicitor, A.O. Akinrimisi of Fagrame Firm of Barristers and Solicitors, Adedoyin rejected the report, accusing NDIC of distorting facts and shirking its regulatory accountability.

According to Akinrimisi, the NDIC publication “remains inaccurate, incomplete, and misleading,” as it failed to reflect subsequent court rulings that cleared Adedoyin and related companies of the allegations.

He cited Suit No: FHC/L/CS/87/2006, in which the Federal High Court struck out NDIC’s claims of debt, and Suit No: FHC/L/CS/1690/2017, where the court faulted NDIC’s handling of City Express Bank’s assets and ordered it to provide a full report—an order the agency has yet to comply with.

Despite these rulings, the lawyer said, NDIC has continued to dispose of the defunct bank’s assets in defiance of the court’s directive.

Adedoyin, in his statement, debunked NDIC’s allegations of “financial misreporting” and “under-provisioning for risk assets,” insisting that both NDIC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) conducted regular examinations during the bank’s operation without ever finding evidence of fraud or recklessness.

“If there was misreporting or manipulation of prudential returns as alleged, and it went undetected by NDIC and CBN, that would suggest either regulatory incompetence or complicity,” Adedoyin said.

He criticised NDIC’s attempt to attribute City Express Bank’s failure to its ownership structure, arguing that both the CBN and NDIC approved the bank’s setup and governance framework from inception.

“If there was any irregularity, both regulators must share responsibility,” he added.

The businessman also refuted NDIC’s claim that he violated CBN’s directive by chairing the Board Credit Committee, noting that the issue was corrected immediately after it was flagged in 2004.

He said the report exaggerated its significance and ignored the fact that board decisions were collectively made.

Adedoyin accused the NDIC of deliberately singling out him and the bank’s former Managing Director for “persecution,” despite no evidence of personal misconduct.

“The biased report portrays me in bad light and is a gross misrepresentation of the facts,” he said.

He further revealed that NDIC’s alleged debt figures of ₦2.3 billion were “spurious, manipulated, and unsubstantiated,” adding that the matter is now under investigation at the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation following his petition.

“The NDIC report is one-sided and lacks credibility. It is unfair, incomplete, and intended to damage my reputation. NDIC has lost its vision of protecting banks and turned itself into an undertaker,” Adedoyin said.

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His solicitor has formally demanded that the NDIC withdraw the publication from its website “in the interest of fairness and accountability to the Nigerian public.”