A Federal High Court sitting in Lafia has ordered EcoBank Nigeria Plc to pay a customer, Oshoma Promise Netifat, the sum of N12 million in damages for failing to honour her transfer instructions for urgent overseas medical treatment.
Delivering judgment on March 7, 2024, Justice N.I. Afolabi held that EcoBank breached its duty of care by refusing to process the transfer request despite the plaintiff’s account being sufficiently funded and without any lawful restriction.
According to the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment obtained by The Whistler, Netifat had, on July 13, 2016, instructed EcoBank’s Lafia branch to transfer N1 million to Amana Medical Centre Limited as part-payment for a surgery by a visiting foreign consultant.
The bank failed to act until July 19, 2016, six days later, by which time the consultant had returned overseas, forcing the cancellation of her scheduled procedure.
The plaintiff, through her counsel, Nelson Kebordih, argued that EcoBank’s refusal caused her immense distress, additional costs, and a prolonged medical condition. She sought N500 million in damages and N2 million as litigation costs.
EcoBank, however, contended that the transaction was handled by its Area 7, Abuja branch, not Lafia, and that delays arose due to required background checks on large inflows from her husband’s UBA account.
The bank insisted it acted in line with CBN and EFCC guidelines and processed the instruction once verification was received.
Justice Afolabi dismissed the bank’s defence, ruling that EcoBank failed to provide key documents and unlawfully denied the plaintiff access to her funds.
The judge faulted the bank for arrogating investigative powers to itself without a court order, stressing that its statutory duty was to report suspicious transactions to appropriate authorities, not to block a customer’s lawful instruction.
The court awarded N10 million in general damages and N2 million in litigation costs, with a 10% post-judgment interest until full payment.
Justice Afolabi concluded that EcoBank “woefully failed” in its duty of care, describing its conduct as a clear breach of professional banking standards.
Credit: The Whistler except headliner
