A legal practitioner, Junaid Sanusi has dragged Access Bank Plc to court, claiming N100 million damages for allegedly deducting more than N50 from his account.
Junaidu Sanusi told a Federal High Court, Ibadan, capital of Oyo State today, September 23, that he operated a savings account with the Bank and that he discovered that the bank was deducting more than N50 as an electronic levy stipulated by the Finance Act, 2019.
“What is provided in the Finance Act is that banks should deduct N50 one-off for transactions above N10,000.
“I noticed that the bank deducts N100, N250 and so on from my account as FGN electronic levy.”
Sanusi argued that any deduction on customers’ accounts must be subjected to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines 2020, and other Financial Institution Acts.
He said that these guidelines remained the only law allowing banks to make deductions from customers’ accounts.
“The court needs to determine whether or not it is lawful for the defendant to make unauthorized deductions from my account in favour of FGN or another third party than the one allowed under the CBN guidelines and Finance Act for bank charges.”
Sanusi said that he relied on his filed affidavit, nine exhibits and a written address in support of his originating summons.
He asked the court to grant all his prayers and to restrain Access Bank from making further deductions on his account. He wanted the bank to reverse the monies deducted unlawfully from his account from March 27, 2020.
”This should be until judgment is delivered in the suit.
“The court should also order the bank to pay N100 million to me as exemplary damages for wrongful deductions it made in favour of FGN without my authorisation.”
Responding, counsel for Access Bank, Ahmed Adeleke, said that he had filed a counter-affidavit, attached exhibits and a written address to argument his case.
He said that the bank reviewed the plaintiff’s three months’ statement of account between March 1, 2020 and May 29, 2020 to justify the deductions made.
Adeleke said that the bank never charged more than the amount stipulated by the law, going by the plaintiff’s transactions within the months under review.
He asked the court to dismiss the plaintiff’s case with substantial cost.
Meanwhile, the trial judge, Justice Uche Agomog has adjourned the case to November 12 for judgment.
