Court orders Zenith bank to refund $8,541 illegal deductions to customer

A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Gwagwalada, FCT, on Friday ordered Zenith Bank PLC to reverse 8,541 dollars illegally deducted from the account of one of its customers, Mr Ida Gabriel.

Delivering judgment, Magistrate Aliyu Shafa, held the defendant (Zenith Bank Plc) was not able to prove to the court that the said money does not belong to the plaintiff.

“Zenith bank should refund to the plaintiff’s account the said money, minus the bank charges if any,” Magistrate Shafa said.

In the statement of claim filed before the court, the plaintiff said he made the offshore transfer of the said sum through his Zenith Bank account to the second plaintiff (Orange wood International Investment Ltd) in India.

Gabriel said the purpose of the transfer of the said amount of money was for the complete payment for Ophthalmic Surgical devices.

He said the beneficiary who do not receive the money reported back to him, which he laid a complain at the bank to that effect, asking the money be sent to the second plaintiff’s account.

He said that the defendant when approached insisted that he must provide the transfer details from the beneficiary to enable the defendant effect the reversal of the said sum.

Gabriel said that the beneficiary did not receive the amount transferred and therefore has no transcript to send to him to enable him retrieve the said amount from the defendant.

Counsel to the plaintiff, Abudrahman Salihu, said the bank was approached to pay the money which was not up the said amount again, but was insisting the plaintiff present the transcript from the beneficiary which was not possible.