KOREDE FOGO
There was commotion at the Oke-ilewo, Abeokuta, branch of Guarantee Trust Bank, a subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), as a customer threatened to set the bank ablaze over his missing N530,000.
This incident highlighted the increasing level of fraudulent activities ongoing at GT bank and inability of the bank’s management to reduce it.
BUSINESSINSIDERNG reports that GTCO experienced more fraud attempts in 2022 compared to 2021. According to its 2022 full year financial report, the number of recorded fraud incidents increased by 84.27%, reaching 27,725. Additionally, the amounts associated with these fraud cases increased from N1.2 billion to N6.4 billion, in 2022.
However, the incident which happened on Tuesday, October, 2023, got to head after the customer who had previously reported the mysterious disappearance of N530,000 from his account, returned to the bank to seek answers, only to be met with indifference.
Upon his return to the bank, the customer was informed that the bank could not trace the vanishing funds. Frustration boiled over, leading to a heated exchange with bank staff, culminating in the bank manager ordering his removal from the premises.
In an alarming turn of events, the customer re-entered the bank wielding a 5-liter container of petrol, threatening to engulf the establishment in flames.
Bank employees and customers fled in fear, leaving the enraged individual alone in the banking hall.
Ultimately, after pleas from those who recognized the distressed customer, he refrained from igniting the petrol but demanded a firm commitment from the bank manager to expedite the process of recovering his missing funds.