- Safiu Kehinde
Fidelity Bank Managing Director, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, has allegedly confessed paying N5 billion to avoid police detention over ongoing probe on alleged N19 billion fraud.
Onyeali-Ikpe made the disclosure in a telephone conversation with a customer of the bank who simply identified himself as Uba.
As captured in the leaked conversation exclusively made available to Sahara Reporters and shared on X on Monday, Uba had recounted how the bank had denied him access to his current account with his contact details deactivated.
The customer who claimed to have been using the account since 2003 faulted the bank for not contacting him directly to inform him about the deactivation.
He accused the bank of unilaterally deciding to freeze his account and remove his access.
“I’ve been experiencing some serious injustice from your bank.
“I’ve maintained a current account with your bank since February 2003 and have operated it diligently. But now, I no longer have access to my account.
“More disturbingly, I recently discovered that all my contact details — including my phone number and email — have been deactivated by the bank.”
“I received a message from your office informing me of this deactivation. I’ve been away on a medical vacation, and even now, I’m just barely able to make this call. Regardless of the situation,
“I believe the bank owed me the courtesy of contacting me directly. I’ve made every effort to speak with someone, but no one seems willing to engage with me,” he said.
“It appears your staff have unilaterally decided to freeze my account and remove my access, as if they can manipulate the system without consequence. I worked with the bank in the past, so I understand how things work. I just don’t think this is fair.” Uba said in the leaked conversation.
Responding to the customer, Onyeali-Ikpe informed him about the ongoing legal case against the bank while disclosing how she had bail herself out to avoid being detained.
She said Uba was earlier sent a letter giving him 14-day ultimatum to visit the bank for resolution of the issue before the account was deactivated.
“We actually wrote to inform you that we were having serious issues involving the police. I, personally, was almost arrested — I had to bail myself out.
“We informed you and gave you a 14-day deadline to return to the country so we could resolve the matter, but we didn’t hear back from you.
“We’ve found ourselves in a very difficult situation, and you have to understand the bank needed to protect itself too. I would have expected you to respond to that letter or at least call.
“Our staff spent nights in police custody because of this issue. I even had to spend ₦5 billion to secure bail and defend the bank.
“It’s not just you who’s hurting — we are also affected deeply by this situation. So, I’d like to pause here for now. I’ll call you back in the evening to continue the conversation.” She said.