Ex-Manager Slams N53m Suit On Ecobank

A former manager of Ecobank, Mrs. Olusola Ojo, whose appointment was allegedly terminatedÂ has slammed a N53 million suit on the bank.

According to a statement of claim filed before a Lagos High Court by a Lagos lawyer,Â Barrister Olujumobi Orioye, the claimant alleged that sometimes in October 2009, sheÂ received a complaint from one of the customers of the bank about fraudulent withdrawalsÂ from his salary account with the bank.

After investigation, it was discovered that the fraud was perpetrated by a colleague, whoÂ was compelled to refund the money through a letter written to his office. Thereafter, theÂ man was queried and his lawyer wrote to the bank to complain and threaten a court action.

The bank, in its reaction, replied that the claimant was not authorised to write suchÂ letter to recover the money and promised that disciplinary action would be taken againstÂ the officers who signed the letters and a disciplinary committee was later set up toÂ investigate the matter.

In its report, Mrs. Olusola Ojo was commended for the recovery of the money, butÂ sometimes in February 2009, during a meeting between representatives of EcobankÂ Transnational Incorporated, the parent company of the bank, with all the branch managers,Â the claimant made a suggestion that all marketing and non-marketing staff of the bankÂ should be given targets across board to improve performance of the bank.

This suggestion, it was gathered, did not go down well with some of the managers who feltÂ they wonâ€™t be able to meet their targets. Consequently, the appointment of the claimantÂ was terminated on 9 September, 2009 and her entitlements were not paid.

On 5 October, 2009, the claimant attended a job interview and was expecting the companyÂ she intended to work with to reach her through a phone call, but by the time the companyÂ called her, it was unable to get through as Ecobank had allegedly instructed ZainÂ Nigeria, her service provider, to block her line for just no reason and by the timeÂ efforts were made to get her line back on course, the position she sought had beenÂ offered another person.

In view of ths, Mrs. Olusola Ojo is claiming the following from Ecobank Plc: N50 millionÂ being special and general damages for deliberate, malicious and illegal blocking of herÂ mobile telephone line; the sum of N3,039,747.85 being unpaid salaries and emoluments uponÂ termination of her appointment and interest on the amount until it is finally liquidated.

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3 Comments

anike akinmolayan says:

September 23, 2010 at 7:34 pm

May God bless Mr Obiozor for using the matter of Mrs Olusola to bring to limelight the plight of many Depositors of the defunct AFRICAN BANK INTERNATIONAL who for no fault of theirs experienced the wanton collapse of AIB. It is a shame that a Bank worth its salt would behave as ECOBANK Depositors. The truth is that we are again trapped with ECOBABK after a Court has granted our release. ECOBANK is actually punishing us by witholding our balances or is grossly incompetent not handling this matter with desired professionalism. The result : many Depositors who ought to stay with the Bank quickly withraw their funds once eventually settled. Worse-still they are selectively paying some and frustrating some without a declared parameter.
I am a customer of AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL BANK but much ashamed to be associated with ECOBANK, given this fraudulent trait. This is no Bank at all. My position is aptly justified by their treatment to one of its own Mrs Olusola. All we are saying, ECOBANK pay up all our balances and stop the on-going fraudulent witholding of our balances without applicable interest.
Those aiding and abetting them in CBN and NDIC should know the game is up. ECOBANK is just not a safe haven for any sound Depositor.

CLEMENT OBIOZOR says:

September 23, 2010 at 6:28 pm

Haba PM News please publish my comment on ECOBANK. Do not suppress it. Mrs Olusola is not alone. I am experiencing the same fraudulent treatment as a Depositor of the defunct AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL BANK. ECOBANK is sitting on the balance in my account. They paid part but claimed they are awaiting CBN’s approval on the remaining sum.The approval is taking forever. This is a surreptitious effort on the part of ECOBANK to frustrate me as well as numerous Depositors from accessing our funds. Yet NDIC keeps asking Depositors to come forward.
ECOBANK is witholding so many of such funds running into Billions for its own use. Yet we all claim to have a dynamic CBN Governor. This Bank will treat us as Depositors like this if they can so treat their own staff. The valid Court judgement mandated ECOBANK to settle Bank Depositors up till DECEMBER 2005. ECOBANK is arbitrarily paying up to AUGUST 2005. When you demand your balance even with proof, they claim they are awaiting CBN’s approval. They are worse than IBRU’s OCEANIC and AKINGBOLA’S INTERCONTINENTAL! I am crying out for the regulatory authorities to know. Why should they further distress customers who have passed through the horrors of Bank failure? Who are the Sponsors of this bare-faced MADDOFFS marauding as a BANK?
Then PM News why sweep my earlier comment under the carpet?
CBN / NDIC, please note that a lot is going wrong with ECOBANK as it is eroding the much needed banker-customer confidence. The facts presented here is incontrovertible. Please examine ECOBANK to make it transparently responsible to its public. Let them pay up balances and differentials of balances to Depositors. Place them on a watchlist before another bubble bursts. PM News please publish both my former and this latter comment. You owe the public a duty as the hope of the common man to discharge your duty without fear or favour please. ECOBANK is defrauding several Nigerians.

CLEMENT OBIOZOR says:

September 23, 2010 at 2:23 pm

“Her entitlements were not paid”, “unpaid salaries and emoluments”. CBN and NDIC, please take note, all is not well with ECOBANK. Just as this lady is crying, so also i am crying. I am a depositor with the defunct AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL BANK LIMITED. In settling the balance outstanding in my account, ECOBANK is witholding a huge differential in spite of obtaining proof of balance. This Bank claims they are awaiting CBN’s approval and that for ever. If it can so treat its own staff, then you can imagine what she can do to a Depositor. I learnt many Depositors are being short changed various differentials running into Billions. We have another INTERCONTINENTAL and OCEANIC in ECOBANK, waiting to happen. I even learnt the Bank is operating in defiance of a valid court judgement using AUGUST 2005 as cut-off of payment of balances instead of DECEMBER 2005 to its exclusive advantage.
I pray the Supervisory authority will look into the plight of many being so badly plundered by ECOBANK under the pretext of “AWAITING CBN / NDIC APPROVAL”, while customers suffer in silence and their confidence is seriously eroded in banking because of the smartness of evil doers in ECOBANK who prefer reaping where they did not sow at public’s expense.
We may also need to know who are the sponsors or directors of this modern day MADDOFFS before the bubble bursts. ECOBANK deserves to be on watchlist, no kidding. NDIC / CBN please come to the rescue of the masses.