80-Year-Old Pensioner’s N2.37m Got Missing From His Union Bank Account After His Debit Card Got Trapped At The Bank’s ATM

Leon Smith Dongtoe, a Plateau-based civil servant, has narrated to FIJ how his father, Dongtoe Raymond Sambo, an 80-year-old pensioner, lost N2,379,984.88 from his Union Bank account through a series of unauthorised withdrawals after an ATM trapped his debit card.

Speaking with FIJ on Friday, Dongtoe said the transactions occurred on March 21. He accused the bank of administrative silence, corporate hostility, systemic failure, negligence and a refusal to account for what happened.

He said his father subsequently petitioned several regulatory agencies, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), the Plateau State Public Complaints Commission, the Plateau State Police Command and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), but the money has still not been recovered.

“I want to share the deeply distressing story of systemic banking failure, regulatory defiance and the heartbreaking mistreatment of my elderly father by Union Bank of Nigeria Plc,” Dongtoe told FIJ.

“My father, Dongtoe Raymond Sambo, has maintained a flawless banking relationship with Union Bank — dating back to when it operated as Barclays Bank — since 1965.

“For more than six decades, he entrusted the bank with his life’s savings. Yet, at his most vulnerable moment, the institution he had relied on for 61 years failed to protect him. Instead of investigating the incident, it shut its doors to us, ignored our complaints and even went as far as describing him as uneducated.

“I witnessed the system fail him at every stage. I was with him throughout the ordeal, and this is exactly how everything unfolded.”

THE DAY THE ATM RETAINED THE CARD

What began as a routine outing in Jos quickly turned into a nightmare, according to Dongtoe. He said a series of unsuccessful card transactions eventually led them to a Union Bank ATM, where the card was retained.

“On Saturday, March 21, I accompanied my elderly father to run a few errands in Jos, Plateau State.

“He needed to buy fuel, medication and attend to a few routine transactions. Our ordeal began at Hariz Filling Station on Bauchi Ring Road.

“We attempted to pay N20,000 using his Union Bank debit card on a Zenith Bank POS terminal. The terminal froze. It displayed neither a successful nor failed transaction, and no debit alert came through.

“To confirm whether his account had been debited and also withdraw cash for his medication, we drove to the FCMB ATM at the British America Junction flyover.

“When I inserted his card, the ATM displayed what appeared to be a strange handwritten-style user interface. I immediately cancelled the transaction and removed the card. We then proceeded to a nearby Access Bank ATM, but it had no network connection.

“Believing the safest option was to use his own bank, we drove to the Union Bank ATM on Bank Road, Jos North. Instead of dispensing cash, the machine retained his ATM card and displayed the message, ‘Card Retained’.

“When we approached the security personnel on duty, they assured us that the machine was safe and that the card could only be retrieved on Monday, the next working day. Trusting the assurance of the bank’s staff, I drove my elderly father home.”

N2.37 MILLION DEBITED WITHIN HOURS

Dongtoe said it was only after they returned home that they realised something had gone terribly wrong.

“We had barely settled at home when my father’s phone began vibrating continuously. A rapid stream of unauthorised debit alerts flooded his phone. It was a velocity attack unfolding in real time.

“Watching an 80-year-old man helplessly see his life savings and pension drained from his account was horrifying.

“I immediately tried to stop the transactions. We dialled the bank’s official USSD codes to block the card, but none of them worked. I repeatedly called Union Bank’s customer service line, desperately hoping to speak with someone who could stop the fraud. Instead, I received an automated message saying, ‘You are not authorised to call this number.’

“We also lodged an emergency complaint through Union Bank’s official website while the transactions were still ongoing, but nothing happened.

“The bank’s electronic channels provided no real-time protection, allowing the fraudsters to withdraw exactly N2,379,984.88 from my father’s account.”

‘WE WERE MET WITH COLDNESS INSTEAD OF HELP’

Dongtoe said he expected the bank to urgently investigate the incident when they visited the Jos Main Branch the following Monday, but claimed the experience only deepened their frustration.

“If the night of the incident was traumatic, what followed at Union Bank’s Jos Main Branch was even more degrading.

“When I accompanied my father to the branch on Monday, expecting an urgent response, we were met with shocking indifference.

“The staff casually suggested that it must have been a card swap. However, when we requested to see the physical card that had been retained inside their ATM or asked for the machine’s audit logs to determine who accessed it, they flatly refused.

“More painfully, the branch management initially resisted receiving my father’s written complaint. It took persistent insistence before they reluctantly stamped and acknowledged the letter.

“They also refused to provide us with a comprehensive bank statement showing the fraud trail. Instead, they told an 80-year-old man who had banked with them since the Barclays Bank era that the matter was ‘out of their hands’ and that they could not help.

“To this day, Union Bank has refused to investigate the incident, provide a formal response or reply to any of our written complaints.”

‘UNION BANK VIOLATED CBN REGULATIONS’

Dongtoe believes the bank failed to comply with several regulatory obligations designed to protect customers from electronic fraud.

“Union Bank’s actions, and its continued silence afterwards, directly contradict the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulatory framework.

“The bank breached its duty of care under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.

“It also failed to comply with the CBN Consumer Protection Regulations (2022) and the Guidelines on the Operations of Electronic Payment Channels by:

“Failing to deploy automated monitoring systems capable of detecting and freezing an unusually high-volume velocity attack on a pensioner’s account.

“Failing to provide a Dispute Reference Number within the stipulated timeframe.

“Failing to promptly initiate Post No Debit (PND) directives to beneficiary and acquiring institutions to freeze the stolen funds before they could be moved.

“And failing to formally investigate or respond to my father’s complaint.”

APPEAL FOR JUSTICE

Dongtoe said the family has continued to seek intervention from regulatory agencies but that the prolonged silence has worsened his father’s emotional and financial burden.

“My father has submitted formal petitions to the CBN Consumer Protection Department, NDIC and the FCCPC, which referred the matter to the Police Headquarters Cybercrime Division. Yet the emotional and financial strain on him continues to grow every day.

“This money represents his pension, his security and his dignity. The prolonged silence from both the bank and the relevant regulatory authorities has become deeply troubling.

“We decided to share our story with FIJ because Union Bank appears to believe that if it ignores our complaints long enough, this elderly man will simply give up.

“Also, we want the public to see how a Tier-1 Nigerian bank treats a customer who remained loyal to it for 61 years after cybercriminals exploited what we believe were vulnerabilities in its systems.

“Most importantly, we hope our story encourages other victims of similar banking fraud and institutional negligence to speak out, demand accountability and help prevent others from suffering the same experience.”

On

Monday, FIJ emailed Union Bank for comment on the matter.

FIJ asked the financial institution whether it was aware of Mr Dongtoe Raymond Sambo’s complaint regarding the alleged unauthorised withdrawal of N2,379,984.88 from his account. FIJ also asked if an investigation had been carried out and what steps had been taken to resolve the issue.

Later that same day, FIJ sent a WhatsApp message to the bank. The response was: “A customer representative will be with you shortly.”

At press time, the bank had not provided any further response.

Source: fij.ng