The Abuja-based Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) fined Stanbic-IBTC Bank N120 million for failing to fulfil a customer’s transfer request.
Dr Demola Sogunle, the bank’s manager, was mandated to deposit the fine into the tribunal’s remita account.
On Thursday, the tribunal found the bank guilty of violating the rules governing banking operations and transactions, two to one, in a divided verdict.
The CCPT found Stanbic-IBTC Bank guilty of violating Sections 5(2)(8) and (9) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Regulation on Instant Interbank Electronic Transfers and Section 130(1)(a) of the FCCP Act, 2018.
The tribunal stated that the penalty was imposed because Stanbic-IBTC did not follow Sections 154 and 155 of the FCCP Act of 2018, which mandates a 10-minute or, at most, one-hour deadline for reversing failed transactions.
The CCPT also directed the bank to pay Mr Clement Osuya, the claimant, N1 million for the cost of filing the suit, according to the lead judgement handed down by Hon. Sola Salako-Ajulo.
“The tribunal holds that, in as much as the defendant (Stanbic-IBTC) failed to comply with the two instructions of the claimant to transfer the sums of N500,000 to another account in Access Bank, as no transfer took place at both times, defines that the defendant breached the banker-customer contractual relationship between the two parties,” Ajulo said.
However, the tribunal declined to award Osuya N5 million in compensation because he could not demonstrate any harm he had endured due to the bank’s subpar service delivery.
While the presiding judge, Hon. Chuma Mbonu, dissented and delivered a minority verdict, another tribunal member, Hon. Ibrahim Yakubu, agreed with Salako-Ajulo’s decision.
Mbonu held that the panel lacked jurisdiction to consider the petition in his minority judgement.
He dismissed the lawsuit for lack of merit because the tribunal only has appellate authority, not original jurisdiction.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Osuya had complained to the bank twice about its failure to transfer N500,000 from his Stanbic-IBTC Bank account to his Access Bank account. Osuya added that the funds covered his children’s education expenses.
He informed the tribunal that he submitted a form on September 8, 2022, under the NIS Instant Payment option, requesting the transfer of N500,000 to his Access Bank account.
He held that, whereas the money on both occasions left his Stanbic-IBTC account as the account was debited, it never arrived in his Access Bank account because it was not credited.
Osuya told the tribunal that the reversal on the first transaction was done after 24 hours while that of the second transaction was reversed after 72 hours.
He further alleged that this neglect of duty of care by the bank caused him trauma, embarrassment and a dent in his reputation as he was forced to collect a loan.
Stanbic-IBTC had, through its counsel, Mr Marcel Osigbemhe, blamed the failure of the transaction on the third-party NIPS service.
Osigbemhe expressed his displeasure over the judgment, wondering how his client could be convicted when no charges were brought against it.
Counsel to the claimant, Ms Deborah Solomon, thanked the tribunal for its well-considered judgment.
