….as bank denies allegations

By Our Correspondent

Some Nigeria banks have been enmeshed in myriads of customer and employee complaints, ranging from illegal deductions, service delays, signature forgery, to prolonged casual staffing, unauthorized loans, unbearable deposit targets, career stagnation, and sundry infractions and mistreatments.

Recently, Sterling Bank, one of the Holding Companies (Holdco), has faced multiple high-profile legal actions and police investigations regarding alleged unauthorized or fraudulent deductions, including notable cases brought by individual employees and corporate clients. In one instance, the Nigeria Police Force indicted the bank and several executives over alleged money laundering and fraudulent deductions totaling millions of dollars following petitions by corporate customers like Miden Systems Ltd. Plaintiffs alleged unauthorized loan bookings, forged signatures, and blocked accounts.

Also, some of the workers have sued the bank at the High Court and National Industrial Court over ungranted or unsolicited salary loans that resulted in continuous, involuntary deductions from employee allowances and accounts.
But, in these legal proceedings, Sterling Bank’s legal teams filed defense amendments, contest the validity of the claims, or assert compliance with internal loan processing and credit recovery protocols.

Sterling Bank, prides itself as the “One-customer bank”. However, today, it is not only one customer but several of the bank’s customers complain about what they described as the bank’s “persistent deceit, illegal deductions from their accounts and misrepresentation of facts”, giving plethora of instances to back up their claims even as the bank has denied the allegations, stating that it did no wrong.

Sterling Bank started in 1960 as an investment and merchant banking institution named Nigeria Acceptances Limited (NAL), which became Nigeria’s first merchant bank in 1969. It later changed its name to NAL Merchant Bank Plc and listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange as public Limited liability company. In 2006, NAL Bank merged with four other financial institutions (Magnum Trust Bank, NBM Bank, Trust Bank of Africa, and Indo-Nigeria Merchant Bank) to form Sterling Bank. It also acquired Equatorial Trust Bank (ETB) to expand its national market share and branch network. Recent restructuring led to the establishment of a holding company structure named Sterling Financial Holdings Company (Sterling HoldCo).

Speaking to our correspondent in Abuja at the weekend, a corporate account holder in the bank, Mrs. Obiageri Obiefule, stated that for a long time, customers have been at the mercy of the bank, which she claimed, on a regular basis debit them for all manner of reasons, some of which she said, were questionable and dubious including hidden charges.

According to her, “these charges amount to loss of millions of Naira to us, the bank customers to the effect that sterling bank declare trillions yearly as profit at the detriment of its customers who lacked the voice to complain.

“Even the regulatory agencies seem to be helpless in this situation as they have failed to address our several complaints”, she alleged.

Another customer, Marvelous Okoro also accused the bank of refusing to release her bank statement four months after she applied for it. She alleged that she had been witnessing withdrawal alerts on her account and had applied to the bank for statement of account to verify the transactions, but expressed concern over the bank’s refusal wondering what could be the reason. She said her fear was based on complaints by two of her friends who she alleged had similar experiences with the bank yet to refund the money deducted from their accounts.

“The trend of fraudulent activities including unwarranted deductions is becoming alarming and portrays the bank in bad light. Please help me appeal to them to release my bank statement to enable me verify my bank transaction details”, she pleaded.

Observers have expressed concern over several allegations of fraudulent practices being leveled against Sterling bank.
On 8th October, 2025, a group that called itself, Coalition of Civil Society Organizations Against Banks Fraudulent Practices and Customers Victimization, (CCSOABFFPCV), staged a peaceful protest at the Abuja headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria as well as in front of Sterling Bank, Abuja regional office.

At the apex bank’s office, the group submitted a petition, which was received by Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, the Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Central Bank of Nigeria.
The petition dated Monday 6th October, 2025, was addressed to Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja.
The protesters displayed placards with several inscriptions like; conspiracy;
forgery; criminal breach of trust; taking loan is not a crime; stop suffocating your customers; theft; make loan repayment transparent etc.

Comrade Flora Elekwa, Director, Mobilization and Advocacy of the CSO, told officials of the CBN and the Media that the trend of fraudulent activities occasioned by unwarranted deductions was becoming alarming and portrayed the Sterling bank in bad light.
The petition was signed by Comrade (Dr.) Sam Wisdom, National Coordinator; Comrade Flora Elekwa, Director, Mobilization and Advocacy; and Lady Cecilia Bisong, National Organizing Secretary.

“The street protest and advocacy match are aimed at drawing the attention of the government, regulatory authorities, and the general public to these unwholesome, illegal practices with a view to rectifying the situation” Mrs Elekwa said.

Particularly, the group faulted the manner Sterling Bank treats its customers and pleaded with the CBN as a supervisory government agency responsible for monitoring and supervision of all banks and financial institutions in Nigeria to immediately ask the management of Sterling bank to have a change of heart. The group specifically mentioned the case of Midden Systems Ltd, said to be a major customer of the bank but which allegedly lost over Two Hundred Million Dollars in its account to illegal deductions by officials of sterling bank.

Miden Systems Limited had in a petition to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the House of Representatives and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) alleged that the bank through its Chief Executive Officer together with the Sterling bank’s Financial Holdings Company Plc and four others used its name to open various spurious accounts through which it allegedly syphoned the company’s funds domiciled with the bank up to the tune of over $200,000,000 (Two Hundred Million Dollars).

The Company, accused the bank of fraudulent accounting, mismanagement of contract proceeds, money laundering, unauthorized fund transfers, opening of fake bank accounts in the name of MIDEN Systems without authorization, and forgery of bank documents in clear violation of banking regulations.

“Funds were moved and misappropriated by the bank at reckless abandon with huge and massive spurious debits to the company’s account”, the company alleged in the petition.

The Company further stated that in line with standard bank practices and extant applicable laws, it continuously and consistently demanded for its statement of account which sterling bank refused to release.

Our Correspondent gathered that in June 2012, MIDEN Systems Ltd, an indigenous oil service firm, entered into a Term Loan/Vessel Finance Facility Agreement with Sterling Bank to enable Miden finance the acquisition of six Light Marine Vessels to be used in operation of the firm’s contract with SPDC.
Under the agreement, the Company contributed $7.3 million (30%) of vessel cost, while the Bank provided the sum of $17 Million dollars ($17,079,000.00) amounting to 70% as loan (via Letters of Credit) for the purchase of the vessels in Malaysia and Singapore. The Repayment plan was structured such that 70% of all contract proceeds from Shell Petroleum Development Company would be transferred, as Loan Repayment, to a Debt Servicing Repayment Accounts (“DSRA”) domiciled with Sterling Bank, while 30% would be reserved for the Company’s operational needs. The tenor of the loan was a 60 months duration (with 6 months moratorium) and billed to terminate by September 2017.

A Police Investigative Report of the activities of Sterling Bank dated 14 January 2025, (copy made available to us) uncovered series of grave banking malpractices committed by Sterling Bank between 2016 and 2024 with regards to the loan transaction.
According to the report, the bank has been misappropriating contract proceeds without rendering proper account statements to the customer. It said that several unauthorized payments were made from the customer account to unknown persons, including disclosed and undisclosed Sterling Bank customers.

“Despite multiple formal requests by the customer, Sterling bank refused to provide account statements thereby concealing transaction records (credit and debit notifications) and falsifying book entries.

“In addition, the bank failed to disclose the status of the loan liquidation process thereby creating financial opacity”, the Police report stated.

The police also said it discovered the creation of multiple fake accounts by the bank, including an unusual 20-digit account in the name of the company without authorization.

According to the report, “the Bank unlawfully consolidated the Customer Company’s account with the account of a different and distinct company, Chasewood Nigeria Limited, in order to fraudulently impose dubious and illegal debt obligations on the Company”.

It was found that Sterling Bank deliberately denied the Customer access to its 30% share of proceeds, thereby crippling the Company’s operations.
Between 2016 and 2024, Sterling Bank allegedly received more than $57 million in contract payments from SPDC and yet falsely claims the Company owes an additional $30 million Dollars to the Bank.

Further findings show that Sterling Bank received a total credit of One Hundred Million and Twenty-Two Thousand US dollars (USD122,768,041.69) in the domiciled account without rendering a proper account of the application and sources of funds to the customer contrary to CBN Rules & Regulations.

“The discoveries are shocking and sordid” An Insider source disclosed
The Police in the report said although Sterling Bank claimed that a $30 million loan was applied for, approved and disbursed in one day- 13th January 2017, the loan application did not emanate from the company. It accused the bank of forging the company’s lodgment of loan application and some documents relating to the loan including Account officer/branch review of loan application, credit committee approvals, customer’s board meeting/resolution. Etc.

“They purportedly fulfilled all terms and conditions for loan disbursement under one day and diverted the funds to private accounts operated by top officials of the bank”, the Police said.

Furthermore, the Police report indicates high level criminal conspiracy at the top management level of the bank to defraud the customer and conceal evidence. The bank unlawfully disbursed and failed to account for the sum of One Hundred and Twenty-Two Million dollars (USD122,768,041.69) admittedly credited to the Company’s account between 03/05/2016 and 19/07/2024.

The Bank also failed to apply the remittances in the sums of Fifty Seven Million US Dollars (USD57,301,865.56) and Six Billion, Nine Hundred and Seventy Million Naira (NGN6,972,548,982.39,) respectively, by SPDC between 2013 to 2020 towards reducing alleged debts but rather channeled the funds to unknown beneficiaries and accounts suspected to be operated by bank insiders and top officials.

According to the Police report, “ the bank falsified book entries on 13 January 2017 by pretending to credit the Company’s account with $30 Million US dollars when in fact there was no outstanding debt on the account.”

It sated that on 16th September 2017, the bank fraudulently transferred from the account the sum of USD28,302,140.59, under an unlawful scheme titled AA Loan Repayment – when there was no transaction linked to the account as well as other fraudulent transactions on 6th May 2016 and 27th August 2016.

Following the police findings, the matter was escalated to the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, where the Nigeria Police Force submitted a report indicting Sterling Bank for alleged money laundering and mishandling of Miden Systems’ accounts.

To avoid further investigations and embarrassment by the Lawmakers, the Bank hurriedly approached the Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, on 5th of February 2025, to seek a restraining order on the House of Representatives from further probe or investigation of Sterling Bank Limited and the Group Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Financial Holdings Company, Yemi Odubiyi pending the determination of the Motion on Notice.

At the resumed hearing of the case on April 30th 2025, the Court could not hear the matter but went on a prolonged adjournment raising concerns on the process.
Section 37(3) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition and Prevention) Act 2015 explicitly criminalizes unauthorized debits by financial institutions.
Evidently, those familiar with the case said Sterling Bank’s actions, as outlined in the Police report, clearly violate this provision and Sections 18; 20, 24(1); 25 of the BOFIA, which prohibit fraudulent banking practices.

In separate interviews with our Correspondents, Legal experts and Consumer Advocacy group, Citizens Network for Consumer Rights, described the stunning revelations as a financial heist and called for the authorities to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation with a view to initiating possible criminal prosecution of those found culpable.

But the bank has consistently denied all fraudulent claims, describing both the publications and the protests at its branches as illegal attempts to disrupt its business operations.
With the above issue still pending, observers have wondered why the bank rather than amicably settle the matter, resorted to calling the Chief Executive of Miden Systems, Dr. Brenda Usoro unprintable names in a frantic bid to blackmail him before the public, a move one analyst described as “bank’s desperate bid to paint him in bad light”.

“Tell me, how can a man who brought million Dollar business to a bank but was robbed of his hard-earned money by the bank officials, be called by the same bank as a chronic debtor? That is laughable. I can only compare it to the proverbial case of the pot calling the kettle black”, said Chief James Ogene, a former Federal lawmaker and an Abuja based industrialist and estate developer.

“I have known Dr Usoro for the past 25 years and during this period we have done a number of businesses. He is trust worthy, honest, very reliable and sincere to a fault. If he tells you something, that is the way it is. Therefore, for someone to call him names in order to blackmail and tarnish his image, that person needs to examine himself or herself. I know the bank did that out of vengeance”, Chief Ogene added.

But the case of Miden Systems Limited is not the only albatross hanging on the neck of Sterling Bank and its officials. In August, 2025, lawyers representing one Olalekan Adejumo (not real name), a Lagos State resident, wrote to Sterling Bank, demanding an investigation and the immediate closure of a strange account the bank opened in their client’s name.

“My lawyers sent a letter to Sterling Bank yesterday, demanding an immediate closure of the strange account,” said Adejumo.

“You won’t believe that as we speak, the account is still very much active. It has not been closed by the bank.

“Despite all the efforts I personally made in getting Sterling Bank to close the account, it is still active.”

The lawyers also requested for a comprehensive report that would reveal the identity of the bank staff who were responsible for the opening of the account and how relevant account opening protocols and legal requirements, including the Know Your Customer (KYC) exercise, Bank Verification Number (BVN) validation and inclusion, and telephone number, and email address and National Identification Number (NIN) linkage, were bypassed before the account was opened.

Adejumo’s lawyers also demanded the unmasking of Legbeti Anuoluwapo, an individual who carried out a N5,000 transaction on the strange bank account, documents that were submitted for the account opening, an apology letter from Sterling Bank and confirmation that no loans, overdrafts and financial liabilities will be attached to the Lagos resident’s identity or BVN through the account.

Another allegation against the bank is delay in acting on customers’ requests.
One of such cases was that of a foreign-based Nigerian student who in 2022 almost lost her university admission with the threat of deportation after Sterling Bank delayed processing her tuition remittance. She was said to have initiated a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Form ‘A’ transaction through Sterling Bank on August 10, 2022, to pay her school fees abroad. Nearly three months passed without the bank remitting the funds or providing a positive update despite multiple emails. With a tight deadline on October 27, 2022, she faced potential expulsion and deportation due to the unfulfilled payment.

In a Twitter thread shared @DasilvaOlamide, she wrote: “I’m at the verge of losing my admission and getting a deportation because of Sterling Bank. I initiated my Form A since 10th August. I have sent them several emails showing them that my school requires the payment or I will be deported, my deadline is tomorrow. HELP!

“Sterling bank has still not done anything, please help me keep retweeting and tagging. Today is the deadline or I will be deported. It’s not fair that I have paid since August 10th and the money hasn’t been remitted to my school”, she wrote.
Source: https://twitter.com/DasilvaOlamide/status/1585234028852318209?s=20&t=a00_kcj9Vv59B0-05p1USQ

That is not all. In November, 2017, Grant Properties Ltd accused Sterling Bank of illegally selling its collateral for an N8 billion loan, but the bank denied any wrongdoing.

According to the property development company, Sterling Bank excised 10 hectares of its land valued at N5 billion, from a 50-hectare collateral and illegally sold it for pittance to a front company belonging to a senior director of the bank.

Delivering judgement on the matter, a Lagos high court ruled that the collateral was illegally sold and ordered the bank to return the property to the company.
The business deal started in 2002 when Grant Properties secured a 50-hectare land in Lekki, Lagos state, to build “Victory Park Estate”.

Sterling Bank was expected to transfer, alongside the loan, every part of the land to AMCON, but it was discovered that the bank left out 10 hectares which it sold to a Real Estate Development (RED) Company — said to be a front for a very senior director of the bank.

Olajide Awosedo, chairman of Grant Properties, said in a chat with journalists that a non-executive director of Sterling Bank had called him “face to face, brought out a survey of 10 hectares of my land and said, ‘Sir, sell this portion of land to me, if you want N10bn from my bank. I will make sure you get it. I am the chairman of real estate finance of the bank”. He refused.

“They moved my loan to AMCON, but rather than transfer all my collateral with the loan, the bank (Sterling) withheld the 10 hectares its director had his eyes on and sold it to him through a surrogate company owned by the director and his associates,” Awosedo added.

He alleged that the director initially sold the land to his front company at N18,500/sq metre, amounting to N1.85b for the 10 hectares — a far cry from the market worth of N5 billion, according to him.
About 2.4 hectares from the land was immediately sold to UAC Properties Development Company (UPDC), another property development company owned by UAC Plc, at a higher rate of N26,000/sq. metre. It was this that became the subject of litigation that ended in favour of Grant Properties.

In a related development, six employees of Sterling Bank Plc were last year rearraigned before Justice Ambrose Lewis Allagoa of Federal High Court sitting in Lagos for defrauding the bank to the tune of N1,257,536,572.50.
Following the “not guilty” plea to the 3-counts amended charge preferred against them by the Police, the judge adjourned the matter to July 18, 2025 for trial. Other further dates fixed for the trial were 15th,16th and 17th of October, 2025 for continuation of trial
The defendants includes Victor Nwabueze Ogochukwu ‘m’, Favour Odey ‘f’, Adekunle Daniel ‘m’, Akachukwu Alagbogu, Oguntade Yetunde ‘f, Nasiru Momoh ‘m’.

According to the amended charge, the defendants were alleged to have sometimes between the 3rd and 4th of November 2024 suppressed one of the Sterling Bank banking platforms and Bance Application from their various customers’ accounts to different fraudulent accounts with the collusion of an internal staff/external parties for possible compromise on sensitive data and security system of Sterling Bank by using international mobile equipment identity 14984244, IP address 84252.113.3 & 88 transaction.
The defendants were further alleged to have committed internet fraud to the sum of N1,257,536,572.50.