Depositors at First Bank of Nigeria Limited and its parent company, FBN Holdings Plc, are reportedly experiencing panic withdrawals due to uncertainty as the crisis that has plagued the once-famous Nigerian institution continues to grow. One of the biggest and oldest banks in Nigeria, First Bank, has been dealing with growing governance issues that have damaged investor trust and sparked worries about its long-term viability.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
The problem has sparked calls for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to take quick action. In the interest of Nigeria’s financial system, shareholders have urged regulators to uphold compliance, settle disputes, and guarantee the bank’s viability. However, The Witness’s findings showed that bank clients and depositors have kept withdrawing their money because they are afraid the CBN will take control of the financial institution at any moment.
Bank depositors have been insistent, transferring their funds in large numbers, despite FBN Holdings Plc’s statement calming tensions and promising stakeholders that the ongoing conflicts would not affect the bank’s operations. In the statement, the bank underlined its increased market capitalization, better financial performance, and dedication to corporate governance.
“The company’s activities are unaffected in any way by this issue, and all of the group’s businesses are still offering their clients continuous services. To safeguard the interests of the business and its subsidiaries, we are doing everything we can,” the statement says. Customers who are reportedly concerned about the safety of their money have transferred billions of naira out of the bank since the boardroom crisis worsened, according to inside sources who spoke to our correspondent.
“Our operations have been severely hampered by the crisis. Customers are continuing to withdraw their monies out of fear, which puts pressure on our marketing. Depositors have transferred billions of naira in just two weeks, and this trend is still ongoing. “I hope the government and CBN take immediate action to address these problems and bring peace back to the system,” a senior bank official told The Witness.
The chief accountant of a major oil company that uses the bank and is based in Victoria Island, Lagos, told The Witness that the board of the company has ordered that all of its funds be moved to other banks out of fear and that any more payments made by its customers to their bank accounts be suspended. “Everyone is worried about the banking institution’s future. My business has instructed the bank to move our money to a different bank for the time being while we wait to see what happens.
Although the CBN has been silent about the fracas at the bank, the Witness has reliably learned that the regulator is troubled and is assessing the circumstances at the financial institution before taking a stance. As you may recall, the CBN recently used its sledgehammer to force Heritage Bank Limited to revoke its license, leaving depositors stranded. The apex bank again targeted the Nigerian financial sector a week later, dismissing the boards of three commercial banks and replacing them with new management teams due to corporate governance concerns.
Citing Section 215(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), a group of shareholders controlling 10% of the company’s shares last week called for an emergency general meeting, which exacerbated the situation trembling the bank. Calls to remove non-executive director Mr. Julius B. Omodayo-Owotuga and group chairman Mr. Femi Otedola are among the issues on the agenda.
The previous CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, allegedly helped Otedola acquire significant shares, which allowed Otedola to become chairman, according to the shareholders. They asserted that since then, this development has upset the bank’s governance framework, resulting in executive disputes and instability.
Additional charges include Tunde Hassan-Odukale’s marginalization, the firing of former CEO Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, and the purported exclusion of exceptional applicants for important leadership roles.
Otedola’s camp has reportedly retaliated by continuing to launch missiles and expose the situation, claiming that the action of the irate shareholders is being supported by previous board members of the organization who allegedly ran the bank aground through many fraud scandals.
According to the witness, the current board of the bank detailed a new petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, to bring charges against the bank’s former board members who were deemed to be at fault.
Remember how Adesuwa Ezenwa, a former relationship manager at First Bank of Nigeria, claimed in August 2024 that billions of naira in loans were given to businesses connected to Bisi Onasanya, a former managing director of the bank, and Oba Otudeko, the bank’s chairman at the time, even though the loans were made in the names of other businesses? At this point, Otudeko and Onasanya are facing 13 criminal charges from the EFCC for the alleged offense.
On Monday, January 20th, Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos will arraign the two.On Monday, January 20th, Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos will arraign the two.
Bisi Onasanya and Oba Otudeko are accused of fraud. They will be arraigned with Soji Akintayo, a former member of the Honeywell Flour Mills Plc board of directors, and Anchorage Leisure Ltd., a business connected to Otudeko. In the lawsuit filed on January 16, 2025, by EFCC prosecutor Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, all four were named as defendants.
The EFCC claims that between 2013 and 2014, the four perpetrated the scam in Lagos in tranches of N5.2 billion, N6.2 billion, N6.150 billion, N1.5 billion, and 500 million. The EFCC plans to call First Bank representatives Cecilia Majekodunmi, Ola Michael Aderogba, Abiodun Olatunji, Raymond Eze, Abiodun Odunbola, and Adeeyo David to testify to the defendants’ fraudulent misrepresentation and provide pertinent documentation as evidence of the charge against them.
Additionally, the testimony of representatives of V-tech Dynamics Ltd., Stallion Nigeria Limited, and the Central Bank of Nigeria will be used by the EFCC. Adaeze Nwakoby and Farida Abubakar are also listed as witnesses by the EFCC.
The commission claims that the acts were punished under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related acts Act 2006 and violated Section 8(a) of the same Act.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
