A customer of Ecobank, Godwin Idogho, has asked it to comply with the order of a Warri High Court asking it to pay him about N3 million.
He said Ecobank, by buying Hallmark Bank (where he opened his account) inherited the debt and other liabilities.
Idogho explained that the amount accumulated from Hallmark Bank’s unwarranted interest on a contentious overdraft that was not issued to him, notwithstanding that he had enough credit in his account.
“I operate a current account with the bank (then Hallmark Bank) in the name of Gody Idogs Nigeria Limited. I am a contractor to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC),” he narrated.
“Following the terms of the contract awarded to Idogs Nigeria Limited, the company was required to provide a bank guarantee letter from a bank for the NDDC to provide a mobilisation fee for the construction of a jetty, which amounts to 25 per cent of N7, 230,772. 50 of the total cost of the contract of N28,923,090.”
He said the NDDC paid a large sum to Hallmark Bank as a mobilisation fee for the contract, and the bank collected its 1 per cent but did not remit or deposit the money into his company’s account.
“One day, I wanted to make a withdrawal in the account but was told by the bank that N2,614,726 being credit balance in the account was the interest to the bank. This is curious. The bank declined to honour my request to make the withdrawal.
“Not satisfied by the statement of account, I involved an independent auditor who further examined the transactions with the bank and faulted the bank.
“While examining all the arguments, the court observed that the NDDC made payment to Hallmark Bank but the bank did not credit my account with the money, instead the bank kept the money in an escrow account while it charged overdraft interest fees on the account on withdrawals that I made.
“All withdrawals that I made were treated as overdraft and excess charges kept accumulating in the account.”
Idogho recounted that due to the protracted disagreement between him and Hallmark Bank (now Ecobank), he filed a suit at the High Court on June 20, 2011.
He said despite judgment delivered in his favour on June 10 2014, Ecobank has not complied.
The judgment was N2,614,726 being credit balance in the account; N100,000 as general damages suffered; and an interest at the rate of 10 per cent a year beginning from the date of judgment until the entire judgment debt is paid by the bank.