A customer of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), Mrs Stella Adepegba, has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged unauthorised withdrawals totalling N2.587 million from two bank accounts belonging to her family, as well as an additional N138,000 loan allegedly obtained in her name without her consent.
The petition, filed by her husband, Mr Adelani Adepegba, on behalf of his wife and daughter, urged the anti-graft agency to investigate suspected insider collusion, possible compromise of the bank’s security systems and alleged unauthorised access to customers’ confidential banking information.
In the petition addressed to the EFCC Chairman at the commission’s headquarters in Jabi, Abuja, Adepegba alleged that the two GTBank accounts were compromised within 24 days through similar transaction channels.
He claimed that fraudsters accessed his daughter’s Child Saver’s Account on October 8, 2026, at about 8 p.m., and transferred approximately N2.5 million through the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) instant payment channel.
According to the petition, three transactions of N399,000, N398,000 and N220,000 were transferred to a Moniepoint account belonging to one Abdulmalik Idris, while another N1.49 million was allegedly sent to a Gomoney account operated by Zainab Ibrahim.
The petitioner said his wife, who operates the child’s account, received no transaction alerts and only discovered the withdrawals after a GTBank employee, identified as Boluwatife Akinwunmi, reportedly contacted her and offered to block the account.
However, he alleged that the account had already been depleted by the time intervention was initiated, leaving a balance of less than N2,000.
Adepegba said the incident was reported at a GTBank branch in Kubwa, Abuja, on October 9, but the bank subsequently attributed the disputed transactions to the alleged use of his wife’s login credentials in an email response.
He further alleged that another breach occurred on November 1, when N80,000 was transferred from his wife’s personal account to a FairMoney account belonging to one Jamilu Ahmad.
The petitioner put the total amount allegedly withdrawn from the two accounts at N2.587 million.
Raising concerns over the circumstances of the transactions, Adepegba maintained that his wife had physical possession of her mobile phone, SIM card and ATM card at their residence in Kubwa when the alleged fraud occurred.
He also insisted that she neither received any One-Time Password (OTP) prompt nor disclosed her PIN, password or USSD banking credentials to anyone. He equally denied that she clicked on phishing links or authorised any SIM swap.
The petition further alleged that additional unauthorised deductions were made from his wife’s account following the incidents.
Adepegba claimed that GTBank deducted N24,000 two days before the petition was filed, explaining to his wife during a subsequent visit that the amount represented repayment for a N138,000 loan allegedly obtained fraudulently through her account.
He also reported the discovery of another N19,000 allegedly stolen from the account, raising further questions about the extent of the suspected security breach.
Faulting the bank’s handling of the incidents, the petitioner questioned how two accounts linked through family relationships, Bank Verification Number (BVN) details and telephone contacts could have been targeted within 24 days without effective security intervention.
He identified the repeated targeting of related accounts, alleged circumvention of two-factor authentication, transfers through similar beneficiary channels and the reported compromise of the account despite a PIN reset after the first incident as circumstances requiring investigation.
Adepegba urged the EFCC to trace and recover the allegedly stolen funds and conduct a comprehensive forensic investigation of GTBank’s personnel and information technology infrastructure to establish whether customer information was leaked or security protocols were compromised.
He specifically requested that the commission obtain complete transaction logs, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, device identification records and NIP transaction trace records relating to the disputed transfers.
He also called for the EFCC to engage Moniepoint, Gomoney and FairMoney Microfinance Bank to obtain the Know Your Customer (KYC) details of the beneficiaries and place the identified accounts under appropriate restrictions pending the outcome of investigations.
The petitioner said the investigation should establish how the transactions were initiated, the devices and banking channels used, the identities of those responsible and whether any bank employee or external actor facilitated the alleged fraud.
As of the time of filing this report, the allegations had not been independently verified. GTBank and the other financial institutions mentioned in the petition had yet to publicly respond to the claims.
