The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) has sued 19 commercial and microfinance banks, including Access Bank, Zenith Bank and UBA, over N13.66 billion allegedly lost to unauthorized transfers following a major glitch on its payment platform.
In a suit filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos, NIBSS is asking for urgent orders to freeze all accounts that received the disputed funds. The company wants the court to compel the 19 banks to immediately place Post No Debit (PND) restrictions on the affected customer accounts to prevent further dissipation of the money.
The banks listed as respondents are Access Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, FairMoney Microfinance Bank, First City Monument Bank Ltd, Fidelity Bank Plc, Globus Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Kuda Microfinance Bank, Lotus Bank Limited, Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, Parallex Bank, Polaris Bank Limited, Providus Bank Limited, Sterling Bank Ltd, TAJ Bank, Titan Trust Bank, United Bank for Africa Plc, Wema Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc.
NIBSS is also seeking orders directing the banks to place liens on all accounts linked to the Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) of the beneficiaries, place the BVNs on a watchlist pending full recovery of the funds, and reverse all sums allegedly traced to the beneficiaries.
In an affidavit filed in support of the application, NIBSS stated that it experienced a system glitch on September 6, 2024, affecting its Nigeria Instant Payment (NIP) engine and allegedly enabling unauthorized transfers into accounts maintained with the respondent banks.
According to the company, the glitches resulted in an “unexpected behaviour” that allowed customers of the respondent banks to receive transfers without corresponding debit instructions from originating accounts, a situation described in banking operations as “Dry Posting.”
The unauthorized transactions allegedly occurred between September 6 and September 9, 2024, largely during weekend transactions, court document said.
NIBSS alleged that the transfers were routed into 176 accounts domiciled with the respondent banks.
“The financial exposure of the Applicant from this incident is in the sum of N13, 662, 138, 920. 00, billion” the affidavit stated.
NIBSS Plc further informed the court that upon discovering the transactions, it immediately contacted the banks and requested them to place PND restrictions on the affected accounts where the funds had allegedly been traced.
But, NIBSS claimed that the banks insisted on obtaining a court order before restricting the accounts of the affected customers.
It argued that unless the accounts are immediately restricted, there is a risk that the funds may be dissipated, thereby frustrating efforts to recover the allegedly unauthorized transfers.
