Olasele Anthony, a Nigerian, has accused Polaris Bank of blocking his account and attempted to steal millions of naira from him.
Anthony claims that the commercial bank froze his account by putting a Post No Debit (PND) on it in an attempt to steal millions of naira from him.
Anthony told SaharaReporters that he suspected foul play after his bank account remained inactive and he was unable to conduct any transactions.
He claimed he phoned the bank and was told it was operating on a court order telling it that he had died.
“On February 3, I discovered that my account was inactive/dormant.” I contacted Polaris Bank, completed out all of the necessary forms, and have been in weekly contact with agents/staff since then.
“Last week, when they ran out of excuses, they declared that I am legally dead.” Polaris Bank claims to have a court order from an Abuja court stating that I am deceased and that a PND has been placed on my account since March,” Anthony stated.
He went on to say that he had tried unsuccessfully to obtain a copy of the court order from the bank.
The bank, he claims, has refused to provide him with the legal document.
“My requests here are simple: Polaris Bank should send me a copy of the court order from Abuja stating that I am dead, and a hold (PND) should be placed on my account so that I can go to the same court and show proof of life or lift the inactive status on my account,” Anthony continued.
“I’d like to see my own death certificate, which was used to obtain the court order, but Polaris Bank staff are refusing to provide me with any of these.”
He questioned the bank’s unwillingness to provide him with the court paperwork, asking, “How do I know which court to approach with Proof of Life without knowing where I was legally declared dead?”
Anthony verified to SaharaReporters that he had written and lodged a legal complaint to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Polaris Bank demanding full details of what happened and the removal of the PND placed on his account.
An email addressed to the bank seeking a response to the customer’s claim had yet to be responded to at the time of writing this report.
Polaris Bank Responds:
Inaccurate information concerning Post-No-Debit (PND) on the Customer’s Account
RE: PND on Customer’s Account — Clarification
Polaris Bank did not declare the customer dead, according to social media rumors, but was in receipt of a court document indicating such, and the Bank has an obligation to obey Court papers while still protecting the consumer.
The client has been engaged and the documents have been provided, while a process has been launched to authenticate the authenticity of the documents from the right organizations.
Polaris Bank’s first priority is to always protect its customers’ funds first. To speed the process, we are collaborating closely with all stakeholders, including security authorities and the customer. When the process is finished, the Bank will release the PND and the consumer will have access to his funds.
Thank you very much.
Management has signed.
