Access Bank has insisted that Tobiloba Adeleke, a Lagos resident, must repay a N1.25 million loan taken by thieves after her phone was stolen on May 22, 2024.

Adeleke shared this development with FIJ in a phone interview on Thursday.

“I received a message from Access Bank this afternoon,” Adeleke said.

“The message came in at exactly 1:50 pm. It was even a WhatsApp message. In the text, the bank insisted that I make repayment before the end of this week to avoid being sanctioned.

READ ALSO: Access Bank Tells Lagos Woman to Repay N1.25m for Loan Taken by Phone Thieves

The Message Access Bank Sent to Adeleke.

“The official who sent the message to me did not state where the sanction would be coming from. The person only said the sanction may include an increment by “penal charges and blacklisting”.

“Presently, I do not know what to do. The loan was not secured by me. It was taken by the thieves who stole my phone. I have explained this to Access Bank several times.”

On August 18, FIJ published a story on how Adeleke’s phone was stolen by unknown persons in Yaba, Lagos. The incident happened during a heavy rainfall on May 22.

The phone was stolen while the Lagos resident was trying to push through people to locate a safe place that could prevent her from getting soaked by the rain.

While Adeleke was trying to retrieve the 9mobile line in the stolen phone, the thieves had used her phone to obtain loans through her Access Bank account four times.

READ ALSO: After FIJ’s Story, Access Bank Reverses N198,000 Taken From Customer’s Account While Asleep

When she was eventually able to retrieve the line, she discovered the thieves had borrowed N293,800, N145,600, N239,500 and N214,600 in her name from the bank.

Adeleke subsequently visited Access Bank branches to explain that the loan did not originate from her but the financial institution insisted it had to be repaid.

The monies the fraudsters obtained from Access Bank were transferred to a UBA account 2330360737 belonging to one Rofiat Abike Fatai, and a Smartcash payment service account 9073633190 belonging to one Oluchukwu Igwe.

READ ALSO: A Customer Sent N360,000 From One Access Bank to Another in Error. The Bank Won’t Return It Even After a Court Order

When FIJ sent an email to Access Bank’s complaint desk at the time, Abayomi Okunola, a bank representative, issued the following response:

“We empathise with you concerning the fraudulent transactions. Please be informed that a complaint has been logged on your behalf and you will receive feedback upon conclusion. The issue has also been escalated to the appropriate team.”

The official did not take his time to review the identity of the sender of the email before issuing a response.
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