LASG fee: Couple battle bank for wrong payment

A United State-based Nigerian, Mr. Adebayo Eboda, and his wife, Bolaji, are at daggers drawn with Skye Bank Plc for allegedly disregarding the couple’s instruction on the disbursement of about N2m paid to the bank.

Bolaji told us that instead of carrying out their instruction, the bank “violated banking rules” while making payment to the Lagos State Government’s account for the issuance of a C of O on a parcel of land that Adebayo bought.

She said at the end of the day, instead of entering dues such as ground rent, development charge, processing fee, regularisation fee among others in favour of his husband only, the money was broken down and entered for Eman Mogbo, Dr. John Tome, Mr. Philip Adebiyi, Odukoya Afolabi Frank Ezenwamma and other eleven persons – all of whom were unknown to Ebodas.

In a petition to the Chief Inspector of the bank, Mrs. Adebayo Bolaji, and dated January 4, 2014, Bolaji insisted that there were directives written at the back of the four bank drafts used for the transaction which the bank did not follow.

She said out of the total drafts of N1,931,422.78, the bank paid N18,522.78 in favour of her husband.

The petition read in part, “Cheque #99074 for N1,834,350.58 dated 4/27/2012 Ifo Lagos State Government was used to make thirty-three separate payments instead of seven payments as instructed at the back of the draft. Cheque #99015 for N12,942.96 Ifo was split into two payments instead of one payment as instructed at the back of the draft. Cheque #99016 for N19,414.44 was split into three payments instead of one payment as instructed at the back of the draft. Cheque # 99014 for N64, 718.80 was split into four payments instead of one payment as instructed.

“The total amount expected to be paid to Lagos State Govt through the above listed cheques by Adebayo Eboda was N1,931,422.78. But out of this amount, only N18,522.78 was paid on behalf of my husband. The balance of N1, 912,900 went to fictitious customers according to the deposit slips. All these transactions were processed without due regard to the instructions at the back of the drafts.”

Bolaji said if the bank refused to correct its mistake, she would have no option than to take the matter to the police and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s disciplinary committee.

But the Head, Corporate Affairs Department, Skye Bank, Mr. Bolarinwa Rasheed, said the agent, who presented the four cheques, gave the names that were favoured in the deposit slips.

He added that banks were not under compulsion to follow the mandate at the back of a draft as claimed by Eboda’s wife.

Bolaji, who did not contest the possibility that the agent was culpable, insisted the bank should have checked the instruction stated at the back.

makeitupnews learnt that the agent is presently in South Africa and could not be reached.

The bank also maintained in a signed letter sighted by our correspondent that it had followed the due process in depositing the money to the state’s purse, adding that the receipt of all the transactions was acknowledged by the beneficiary.

“The standard practice for processing payments on Lagos State Government revenue is for the depositor to update the Lagos State Government customized deposit slips the category of fee/charges they intend paying. This was also done in the processing of the above instruments (cheques).

“It is worth noting that the beneficiary on the instruments got value for the entire four instruments. We would advise that the complainant liaise with the person who the instruments were given for payments to shed more light on the information completed in the customized deposit slips as attached,” the letter read in part.