E-Financial
Customers File Class Action Suits against Access and Zenith Banks
Customers have instituted a class action lawsuit against Access and Zenith Banks, two of the leading banks in the country.
In the first case, customers of Access Bank have alleged gross negligence, breach of contract, and violation of consumer rights following a catastrophic IT meltdown in August 2024.
Zenith Bank on the other hand was accused of violating fundamental data protection laws, infringing on privacy rights, and causing emotional distress through persistent, unsolicited marketing communications.
Akinyele Oluwemimo Olaniyan. Sowole Olufunke Olukemi; Adetoun Anthonia Osunbade; Sowole Abidemi Olusola; Adegboyega Adeola Odunsi and Tokunboh Fagun; six plaintiffs representing millions of customers file the first case against Access Bank at the Federal High Court, Lagos Division.
The plaintiffs, acting on behalf of themselves and other affected customers, are demanding N420 billion in damages, citing loss of access to funds, emotional distress, and exemplary damages.
They claim that the banking disruption, which lasted over a week, paralyzed personal lives and businesses, with customers unable to make essential payments despite having sufficient funds in their accounts.
In the second ground-breaking case, Moyosola Okeremi acting on behalf of herself and an estimated 33 million customers of Zenith Bank, has instituted a lawsuit against Zenith Bank Plc at the Federal High Court, Lagos Division.
Okeremi accuses Zenith Bank of violating fundamental data protection laws, infringing on privacy rights, and causing emotional distress through persistent, unsolicited marketing communications.
The plaintiff alleges that Zenith Bank, a public liability company operating in Nigeria and internationally in countries such as the United Kingdom, Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, China, and the UAE, unlawfully exploited customers’ personal data.
This data, which includes names, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, signatures, and other sensitive information, was originally collected under the “Know Your Customer” (KYC) Small business credit schemes guidelines mandated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Okeremi contends that while the data was collected for legitimate banking purposes such as issuing account statements—Zenith Bank repurposed it without obtaining explicit consent from the customers.
Between July and August 2024, customers reportedly received relentless marketing communications via phone calls, text messages, and emails promoting Zenith Bank’s public share offerings.
These unsolicited communications, she argues, were not only intrusive but also violated several legal statutes, including the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019 and the National Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023.
The plaintiffs claim that Zenith Bank’s actions were unfair, inconsiderate, and executed without any regard for the privacy of its customers.
In the case against Access Bank, the plaintiffs argue that Access Bank’s failure to maintain a robust IT system and implement contingency plans during service disruptions constitutes a breach of the contractual obligations owed to its customers.
They emphasized that the bank, licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and with over 36 million customers as of 2023, has a legal duty to provide uninterrupted financial services.
The plaintiffs claim that Access Bank breached several legislations such as the Central Bank of Nigeria Consumer Protection Regulations 2019, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) by failing to ensure continuous service delivery and by not having adequate backup systems in place.
They also cite the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations 2007 and the Consumer Protection Framework 2016, which mandate financial institutions to safeguard consumer interests and ensure service reliability.
The plaintiffs allege that the IT meltdown caused widespread hardships, harassment from creditors, inability to pay for essential services such as school fees, medical bills, utilities, and business transactions, resulting in emotional distress, embarrassment, and financial losses.
The lawsuit claims N200 billion for the inability to access funds, N200 billion for emotional distress, and an additional N20 billion in exemplary damages to deter future negligence.
These cases could set a significant precedent for Nigeria’s financial sector, particularly regarding customer rights in the digital banking era.
Credit: BusinessDay
Debt Management Office (DMO) said the federal government spent N3.14 trillion on servicing its domestic debt in the first quarter of 2026.
The office disclosed the data in its latest domestic debt service report for Q1 2026.
The figure comprises N2.97 trillion in interest payments and N169.68 billion in principal repayments.
The agency said in January, the government spent N741.82 billion on domestic debt service, while the figure rose to N967.67 billion in February.
Debt service increased further to N1.43 trillion in March, bringing the total for the quarter to N3.14 trillion.
The March figure was 47.7 percent higher than the N967.67 billion recorded in February and 92.7 percent above the N741.82 billion spent in January.
Also, the debt office said interest payments accounted for about 94.6 percent of total domestic debt service during the quarter.
The DMO said treasury bills accounted for the largest share of interest payments at N1 trillion, while interest on federal government bonds stood at N1.96 trillion.
The agency said the government also paid N4.24 billion in interest on FGN savings bonds during the period.
The DMO said the principal component of the debt service comprised N169.68 billion in repayments on local-denominated promissory notes.
Overall, the government’s domestic debt service rose sharply through the quarter, with March accounting for almost half of the N3.14 trillion spent between January and March.
Nigeria’s public debt increased by 0.01 percent to N159.35 trillion in the Q1 of 2026.
Interswitch Group, an integrated digital payments and commerce company, together with global banking software provider, Temenos have reassured the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of their commitment to advancing the modernisation of Nigeria’s financial services sector.
Interswitch and Temenos had earlier in June announced a strategic partnership across Africa which would see Interswitch leverage Temenos solutions – across core banking, digital banking, payments, wealth management and financial crime mitigation – to provide cloud-hosted and on-premises managed services to banks and financial institutions across Africa.
This will enable institutions to progressively transform their banking platform and evolve to more customer-centric business models. The service will initially support key African markets including Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and others.
The recent regulatory visit to CBN headquarters in Abuja, was led by the Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe, and Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) at Temenos, Santhosh Rao, as part of the ongoing efforts by both organisations to deepen collaboration with Central Banks across the African region on the future of digital banking infrastructure across Nigeria and key African markets.
Discussions centred on the strategic partnership between Interswitch and Temenos, and how it will enable Nigerian financial institutions to progressively modernise their core banking platforms and transition to more customer-centric business models.
The two organisations also explored opportunities to work with the CBN in charting new frontiers in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) innovation, leveraging resilient financial networks and decentralised application platforms to support the issuance and management of CBDCs.
Commenting on the visit, Elegbesaid: “Our partnership as Interswitch with Temenos and our continued engagement with the Central Bank of Nigeria reflect a shared commitment to building banking infrastructure that is resilient, inclusive, and ready for the next phase of Africa’s financial evolution.
We are proud to be at the table as these conversations shape the future of digital banking technology and innovation across key Africa markets…”
The Bank of Industry, through BOI Financing SPV Plc, has opened subscriptions for its inaugural Series 1 Fixed Rate Bond worth up to N250bn under its $1bn multi-currency instruments programme, seeking to raise long-term capital to finance businesses across Nigeria’s priority sectors.
The offer, which opened on 5 August and closes on 11 August, is being arranged by Chapel Hill Denham as the lead issuing house. The five-year bond is priced within a yield range of 17.35 per cent to 17.50 per cent and will be listed on the FMDQ Securities Exchange.
According to the offer document, proceeds from the issuance will be deployed to finance eligible businesses and projects across sectors, including agriculture and food processing, healthcare, engineering and technology, renewable energy, petrochemicals, oil and gas, creative industries and solid minerals, in line with BOI’s development finance mandate.
The lender said the financing is expected to improve access to medium and long-term funding for Nigerian enterprises, expand productive capacity, create and preserve jobs, deepen local value addition, support import substitution, boost exports and strengthen domestic value chains.
BOI, Nigeria’s foremost development finance institution, said it has provided funding to more than one million businesses across the country and disbursed over N1.27tn between 2023 and 2025. The institution operates across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory and is jointly owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The bank also highlighted its financial performance, reporting a 36 per cent compound annual growth rate in gross earnings between 2021 and 2025.
Interest income rose 64 per cent to N884bn in 2025 from N538bn in the previous year, while its capital adequacy ratio stood at 39 per cent, nearly four times the regulatory minimum of 10 per cent. Its non-performing loan ratio was 1.7 per cent, below the CBN’s prudential limit of five per cent.
The bond has been assigned AAA ratings by Agusto & Co. and Intelligence Africa, reflecting the issuer’s strong capitalization, profitability, liquidity and ownership structure.
The issuance is open to institutional and qualified investors with a minimum subscription of N5m and additional investments in multiples of N1m. Interest will be paid semi-annually at a fixed rate, while principal repayment will begin in the third year through equal semi-annual amortised instalments until maturity in 2031.
The bond is also exempt from tax, making it an attractive investment option for investors seeking stable returns amid expectations of declining interest rates.
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