Controversies Over Missing N500m In Dead Man’s Access Bank Account
- As Woman Accuses Bank Of Stealing Late Brother’s Money
Controversies have trailed the alleged missing of over N500m in the account of a dead man, Mr. Idongesit Edeth Awah, with Access Bank.
The late account owner’s sister, Bessie Edeth Awah, alleged Access Bank of siphoning her brother’s N500m.
The woman accused Access Bank of denying the existence of the fund in her late brother’s account.
The matter, which has generated a lot of attention, was brought to the fore by social media activist Martins Otse popularly called VeryDarkMan.
VeryDarkMan, in a video, said the late brother, Mr. Idongesit Edeth Awah, before his death, told his sister about the four bank accounts he was operating with – Keystone, Guarantee Trust, Diamond, and Diamond Access Banks, with the amount in each bank.
VeryDarkMan noted that Keystone and Guarantee Trust banks gave the woman her brother’s money when she went there to claim it, adding that Diamond Bank initially denied that her brother had money with them but later gave her the fund.
He, however, said the last bank, Diamond Access, refused to acknowledge the over N500m in the late man’s account.
The social media influencer, while narrating what happened, said, “A man named Idongesit Edeth Awah died on the 17th of April, 2019. While on the sick bed, because he didn’t have a will, he called his sister and told her every property he had in his name. That includes the money he has in every bank that he opened in Nigeria.
“After the man died, the sister, Bessie Edeth Awah, went to get a letter of administration from the High Court, Kaduna. With this, she will be able to claim all the property her brother has including the money in the banks.
“The woman wrote a letter to the Central Bank of Nigeria to crosscheck the amount her brother had in all the banks he opened through his BVN.
“CBN replied the woman and named all the banks the brother was using which includes – Diamond, Keystone, Guarantee Trust, and Diamond Access Bank.
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“The brother had told the sister before his death that he has N10m in his GT bank account, N2.9m in his Diamond bank account, N3m in his keystone bank account and the Diamond Access account has over N500m.
“After collecting the letter from CBN, the sister went to GT bank to claim her brother’s N10m and she was given the money. She also went to keystone bank and she was given the N3m her brother had there.
“She went to Diamon bank to ask for the N2.9m her brother has in the account but the bank told her that her the late brother doesn’t have any money in that account. After weeks of going to the bank, the bank manager admitted that there was N2.9m in the account and the money we had given to the woman in cash.
“She went to the last bank – Diamond Access, to ask for his brother’s N500m, but the bank denied that his brother had money in the account. Initially, the bank said the late Awah had no account with them, but when his BVN was shown to the management, they later admitted that there was an account, but no money was there.”
He added that, “She requested for the bank statement and she was given a bank statement of N1.68k. Not satisfied, the woman got a lawyer who wrote to the bank demanding the documents the late Awah used in opening the account as well as the full statement from inception till the last day. They’ve been on the matter since 2019.
“On the 28 of May 2024, the Federal High Court, Abuja, asked the bank to release the statement of account, but the bank refused.
“The lawyer petitioned the bank and that was when Access bank released the bank statement.
“The account was opened on the 10th of June, 2016, but when the bank statement was given, Access Bank skipped from June 10, 2016, to March 31, 2020. There was no record for 2017, 2018, and 2019.
“In the statement of account released by Access bank, the opening balance was zero naira and he has never put any amount in the account.
“According to the woman, she suspected that the board members of Access Bank had siphoned the money. The woman also said when they went to the National Assembly branch of the bank to complain, the branch told them there was no account with that name, but when the statement of account was released, it carried the stamp of the National Assembly branch.”
Reacting, Access Bank in a statement, described the allegations as “most untrue and baseless”.
The statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to a video on social media wherein allegations of missing funds and unethical behaviour have been made against Access Bank PLC.
“First and foremost, we wish to emphasise that the safety and security of our customers’ funds are core priorities which we take seriously. Second, Access Bank Plc does not engage in or condone any unethical behaviour.
“In the instant case, the allegations of missing funds in the Bank are most untrue and baseless.
“There is no N500million or any other fund or amount missing from the subject customer’s account or from any other customer’s account with us.
“We and other independent stakeholders in the banking industry have thoroughly investigated these allegations and independently arrived at the same conclusions.
“Access Bank PLC operates with the highest ethical standards, and we protect our customers’ interests whilst also respecting privacy laws.
“Consequently, whilst we have engaged and will continue to engage with our customers, we must advise the public not to rely on or believe sensational and unverified claims that are designed to titillate and mislead the public.”
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
