How First Bank Staff Allegedly Diverted, Squandered Septuagenarian’s N10.5m Fixed Deposit

Sule Fabiyi, a septuagenarian residing in Osogbo, Osun State, has narrated how banker Abdulwahab Sani Shehu terminated a N10.5 million fixed deposit investment he once had with First Bank and subsequently mismanaged the sum.

A report by FIJ stated that Fabiyi had last Friday said Shehu used to be the financial institution’s business banker who had been managing his account at its Osogbo branch since September 2019.

“On September 10, 2019, I decided to have a fixed deposit investment with First Bank of Nigeria at its Osogbo branch,” said Fabiyi.

“The amount I earmarked for the investment was N10.5 million.

“After this, the investment went on for years and I received interest on it whenever it was due.

“Everything went according to plan and, at the time, I had nothing to worry about.

“As a matter of fact, I always reinvested the N10.5 million anytime the investment reached its maturity stage.”

Fabiyi went on to tell FIJ how things took a devastating turn with the N10.5 million investment he had with the bank in July.

“On July 7, however, I shockingly received a N500,000 fund transfer from a personal account belonging to one Abdulwahab Sanni Shehu,” said Fabiyi.

“I immediately could not remember who the Shehu was, but after a while, I figured he was the First Bank business manager who once managed my account at its Osogbo branch.

“I knew something was not right as I had always received notifications of returns on my investment directly from the bank, and not from any individual.

“With this in mind, I immediately visited the bank’s branch in Osogbo to find out what was going on with my investment.

“It was while I was at the Osogbo branch that the branch manager conducted a search to ascertain the status of my investment.

“In the end, it was made known to me that Shehu had in fact terminated my investment since 2022.

“Yet, I received interest on the investment from First Bank till January 2025.

“This meant that Shehu had terminated my investment since 2022 and had diverted my N10.5 million into some sort of investment or activity I had no knowledge of.

“As we speak, First Bank has not refunded my N10.5 million to me. I also hear the bank has since terminated Shehu’s appointment. That is, however, not my business.

“I am a 72-year-old man, and I depend on my money to survive.

“My lawyers have sent many letters to First Bank on the matter, but the financial institution has not said anything about how it would refund my money. They even made an unfounded claim that I had a personal relationship with Shehu, but that’s a blatant lie.

“He was the business manager of my account and that was all.

“I need First Bank to give me my N10.5 million back.”

On Friday, FIJ sent an email to First Bank’s customer care unit for a reaction to Fabiyi’s claim, but it had not been responded to at press time.

Source: FIJ