Union Bank of Nigeria Plc has been ordered to pay a N5.5 million fine for damages.
Justice Winifred Effiong of a High Court of Akwa Ibom, sitting in Uyo, the state capital, found Union Bank guilty of the breach of agreement allegation brought before it by some customers of the financial institution.
The customers – God’swill Augustine Inyang and Asuquo Thomson Nkana, had accused the bank of failing to register them on its customers’ list after applying to open accounts.
The fraud story
It all started when the duo when the duo asked their lawyers to seek redress in court, to demand for general damages from the bank.
Speaking on the matter, a Lagos-based lawyer and human rights activist, Inibehe Effiong, whose law firm represented the claimants, stressed that the ruling will serve as a lesson and shun greediness in the corporate world.
He said: “This is another testament to the sacred role of the judiciary as the last hope of the common man. I hope Union Bank and other financial institutions will realize that they cannot do whatever they like with depositors’ funds. The learned judge has elevated justice and remedied the injustice done to the claimants.”
Union Bank’s overboard action
It is an open secret that fraud is a challenge that has since been plaguing the banking sector on a global scale. In recent times, fraudulent activities have been on the rise, as bank like Union Bank align itself to be part of the machineries carrying out fraud at the detriment of bank customers, and sometimes the financial institution itself.
