By Dipo Olowookere
On Thursday, news went into town that a Supreme Court judge has directed Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc to pay the sum of N12 billion to one of its customers, Mr Innocent Chukwuma.
The report quoted spokesman of the company headed by Mr Chukwuma, Innoson Motors, Mr Cornel Osigwe, as saying the court ordered the bank to make the payment within 14 days.
But reacting to this, GTBank said there was no court order directing it to make any payment to “any of its debtor customers.”
In the statement obtained by Business Post, the leading financial institution in Nigeria urged its customers and members of the public to “disregard these false statements as nothing could be further from the truth.”
“The attention of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc has been drawn to false, mischievous and malicious statements circulating in the news and social media in respect of a purported directive by the Supreme Court of Nigeria to the bank to make payments to one of its debtor customers.
“The bank’s customers and the general public are hereby kindly urged to disregard these false statements as nothing could be further from the truth. There was no directive or order issued by the Supreme Court of Nigeria to the bank to make any payment to any of its debtor customers.
“The bank, as a highly responsible corporate citizen, will in accordance with its culture and tradition refrain from making comments about on-going litigation matters and will continue to focus on using legal means to recover its bad debts.
“It must be emphasised that the bank remains undeterred in its recovery drive against recalcitrant debtors.
“We again reiterate that there is no iota of truth in the falsehood being peddled by desperate and mischievous elements and the general public should disregard same in its entirety.
“The bank remains committed to providing best-in-class customer experience to all its valued customers.
“We thank you for your continued support and patronage,” the statement read.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Aduragbemi Omiyale