Banking

BVN: Banks May Beg Court to Stop FG

Published

8 years ago

25/10/2017

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) operating in Nigeria may have to run to court to challenge an order granted by a court in Abuja to the Federal Government to takeover all funds in accounts without Bank Verification Number (BVN).

According to BusinessDay, this decision follows outcome of the meeting with legal advisers of banks on Tuesday and that of banks chief executives on Monday at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos.

A source familiar with the outcome of the meeting says that while the banks do not want to be confrontational about this, the issue is beyond corruption as being touted by the FG.

Recall that Justice Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of on October 17 obtained an order from Federal High Court judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, seeking to confiscate all funds in accounts without BVN to the Federal Government.

The order was obtained against 19 banks in the country with the Central Bank of Nigeria also included as a defendant in the case. The banks have been given an ultimatum of 14 days to advertise accounts without BVN in a national newspaper, during which time, the owners of such accounts are expected to show cause why the money should not be forfeited.

Stakeholders argue that there are many reasons for not having a BVN which include cases of death of an account holder where the probate process is still ongoing or many Nigerians that are outside the country.

They see no legal basis for such sweeping order, saying that if FG wants to enforce such an order, it should have been done by an Act of the National Assembly.

Johnson Chukwu, managing director/CEO, Cowry Asset Management limited told BusinessDay by phone that banks have strong basis to contest the order particularly on the aspect that FG gave a timeline for banks to advertise accounts without BVN in a national newspaper, during which time, the owners of such accounts are expected to show cause why the money should not be forfeited.

Chukwu said there is no provision of such in the Money Laundry Act, adding that the Act does not allow forfeiture of funds for reasons of not having a complete documentation.

He said if the banks are willing to challenge the order, it is good but was concerned that those who may lose their funds may be unable to challenge the order directly because they don’t have the capacity to do so or for other reasons.

The banks CEOs agreed to reach the Attorney General of the federation as well as others in the executive to explain to them the far reaching implications of the order, especially since it also affects foreign investors with funds in Nigeria.

“The economy may shrink again if the federal government goes ahead to seize the funds in the non – BVN linked accounts as the magnitude of the numbers involved is huge .The extent of shrinkage will depend on the volume and whether these accounts were active or dormant in spite of the regulation,” Bolade Agbola, Analyst and CEO of LAM Agro Consult Limited said in an emailed response to BusinessDay.

Ayodeji Ebo, managing director, Afrinvest Securities limited told BusinessDay by phone that the banks should engage with the Federal Government on the issue.

However, Ebo said it may be good for banks to get an injunction to halt the order and engage until agreement is reached.

Data obtained by BusinessDay from Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Limited (NIBSS) shows that a total of 46 million bank accounts are yet to be linked to BVN as at February 2017, the latest period for which data is available.

Total bank accounts in the banking system were 97.57 million as at February 2017 while total accounts linked with BVN stood at 51.72 million, leaving a total of 46 million accounts yet to be linked with BVN, introduced in February 2014 to ensure that all bank accounts have the biometric identification of their owners.

“Expropriating people’s money can give the wrong impression especially for an emerging market like Nigeria,” said the banking source.

“The Government can choose to restrict access to non BVN accounts if it is concerned about money laundering but not seize funds in said accounts, to avoid hurting innocent people.”

Source: BusinessDay

Banking

Secure IT, StockMed, 18 Others Make Wema Bank Hackaholics 6.0 Top 20 List

Published

2 days ago

18/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.

The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.

The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.

They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.

They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.

The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.

In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.

The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.

After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.

“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.

“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.

“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.

“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.

“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.

Banking

Customs to Penalise Banks for Delayed Revenue Remittance

Published

2 days ago

18/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.

This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.

“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.

“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.

“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”

Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.

He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.

“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.

“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.

Banking

First Bank Deputy MD Sells Off 11.8m First Holdco Shares Worth N366.9m

Published

2 days ago

18/12/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.

A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.

It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.

The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.

Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.

He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.

Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.

He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.

He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.

At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.