Date: 2016-07-12

As I pen down this emotion laden piece, my heart is drenched in tears and devastated owing to the unexpected fraud perpetrated in my United Bank of Africa account domiciled in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, resulting in series of withdrawals of a sum of N408,000.00 by an authorized person or persons.

To be precise, the account is under the watch of the Oja-Oba branch of UBA in Ilorin.

How this fraudulent transaction was carried out was still a mystery to me between February 22 and 23, 2016.

All efforts to retrieve the money proved futile in spite of several complaints lodged at the Oja-Oba, Ilorin Branch of UBA to ascertain the source of dubious transaction, retrieve the money involved and prevent future recurrence.

After the complainants were made, the bank assured me of discreet investigation and block the account forthwith, but unfortunately no action was taken.

However, to my utter dismay, another dubious transaction was performed on my account on Friday July 1, 2016 following which my account was debited N15,000. The person who withdrew the money still live in the realm of mystery.

The series of complaints made to the bank management had not yielded any positive result except that the officials of the bank were trying to heap the blame on me for what I didn't have knowledge about.

Because of this lackadaisical stand of the bank, am inclined to believe that there was internal connivance and involvement in the use of fictitious people to make subtle, but unauthorized withdrawals from my account.

Or how else could one explain a situation where what appeared to be a fraudulent matter was not properly investigated in the first instance until the second one was committed.

The situation caused me severe pains and psychological trauma, the result of which was the illness I took for some period of time.

What prompted this piece was the negative effect the situation caused me and my household, particularly now that cash has become ashes in our mouth.

I consider this unhealthy development as the height of inhumanity and injustice in the banking industry, and it is also a test case on the integrity of our banks and their staff.

It is saddening that the institution believed to be a haven to keep money safe has reversed itself and become a fearful banditry, swindling unsuspecting depositors of their sweat and hard earned money deposited.

And the big question is if a supposed safer institution, which should be the custodian of depositors' money turned to a fraudulent ring, where next could one turn to?

With heavy burden in my heart and endless nightmare, I'm inclined to believe that the fraud perpetrated in my UBA account, which nearly and practically left my account in zero status, was carried out with active connivance of either the bank or its officials.

As I write this letter, my lawyer has been duly informed about this ugly development and he has already taken legal action seeking to extract information on the fictitious withdrawals of money in my account and the immediate refund of the money.

Mrs Abdulbaki Hauwa Ayo writes from Ilorin.