E-Financial
Alleged Amnesty Fraud: Court Declines Ecobank’s Application to Stop Refund of N849m to FG
A federal high court in Abuja has refused to grant an application by Ecobank Nigeria Limited to restrain the federal government from ordering the bank to reimburse over N800 million in losses incurred as a result of duplicate payments made to the beneficiaries of the Amnesty programme.
Inyang Ekwo, presiding judge, in a ruling on Wednesday, ordered Isaac Oguche, counsel representing the commercial bank, to put the respondents on notice within seven days of the order.
Ekwo also directed Oguche to serve on all the respondents in the suit, the processes filed, and adjourned the matter until May 31.
The federal government had established a Niger Delta amnesty programme, with a key component said to be the payment of monthly stipends to qualified beneficiaries in the oil producing region, via linked banks accounts.
The office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) had said it was carrying out an investigation into multiple accounts allegedly linked to ex-militants.
Ecobank had, in an ex-parte motion marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/469/2023, sued the attorney-general of the federation (AGF), national security adviser (NSA), and the federal government through the amnesty programme (as 1st to 3rd respondents respectively).
In the motion dated April 5, Anthony Idigbe, the bank’s lawyer, sought for an order of interim injunction restraining the respondents from arresting its directors, staff or agents or taking steps to disrupt its business without following due process of law, pending the hearing and determination of originating motion.
It also sought an order of interim injunction restraining the respondents — either by themselves or agents — from taking steps “to further harass the applicant, directors, and staff”.
The affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by Oladipupo Raji, regional operations head of Ecobank in FCT, claimed that since inception of the programme till January 2023, there had been no allegation against the bank for fraud in relation to monies paid to its customers.
He said on January 19, commercial banks, including Ecobank, were summoned to a meeting by Babagana Monguno, NSA, in respect of the amnesty programme.
“That the NSA at the meeting which I attended informed the banks’ representatives that some of the beneficiaries of the amnesty scheme have been receiving double payments from the federal government of Nigeria by opening multiple accounts in several banks and that the 3rd respondent has also been paying funds to unknown individuals,” Raji said.
“That the NSA, thereafter, sought for the support of the banks in tackling the challenges in sanitising the system and ensuring the leakages are blocked.”
But to the bank’s surprise, according to Raji, Aliyu Mohammed, permanent secretary, special services office, office of the secretary to the government of the federation, informed all the banks that the federal government had purportedly lost the sum of N13 billion through the leakages and thereafter noted that the the sum of N849,408,000 must be refunded by Ecobank within two weeks.
Raji, in response, said Ecobank was not “involved in the processing of payments, approval of payments or verification of the list of the beneficiaries of the scheme”.
Fidelity Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading Tier-1 financial institutions, has announced a remarkable financial performance for the first quarter of 2025, recording a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N105.8 billion, representing an impressive growth of 167.8% compared to N39.5 billion in Q1 2024.
Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc
The bank’s unaudited financial statements, released on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on April 30, 2025, highlight a substantial increase in Gross Earnings, which rose to N315.4 billion, marking a year-on-year growth of 64.2% from N192.1 billion in the same period last year.
Growth in interest income was primarily led by 38.6% yoy (7.4% ytd) expansion in earning assets base, while the increase in non -interest revenue came from FX-related income, trade and commission on banking services, etc., supported by increased customer transactions.
Commenting on the bank’s performance, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe,OON, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, stated, “We started the year with triple-digit growth in profit and sustained the momentum in our earning assets growth.
This performance shows the resilience of our business model and reinforces our confidence in delivering a better result in the 2025 financial year.”
Other areas of the unaudited financial statements, equally show a marked improvement with Total Deposits growing by 11.1% ytd to N6.6tn from N5.9tn in December 2024, driven by 10.6% ytd growth in low-cost deposits to N6.1tn, which represents 92.2% of total customer deposits. Local currency deposits increased by 2.0% ytd while foreign currency deposits increased by 21.4% from $1.9bn in December 2024 to $2.3bn.
Net Loans and Advances increased by 5.0% ytd to N4.6tn. The growth in the bank’s Loan Book was skewed to LCY Loans as cost of risk declined to 0.6% from 1.5% in 2024FY.
“Beginning the year with such positive momentum reinforces our commitment to supporting the growth of individuals and businesses, while enhancing our financial sustainability. As we go into the rest of the year, we remain focused on building a resilient banking franchise with a diversified earnings base,” Onyeali-Ikpe added.
Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 9.1 million customers through digital banking channels, its 255 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.
The Bank is the recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the 2024 Excellence in Digital Transformation & MSME Banking Award by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; the 2024 Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application award for its Fidelity Mobile App by Global Business Outlook, and the 2024 Most Innovative Investment Banking Service Provider award by Global Brands Magazine.
Additionally, the Bank was recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence and as the Export Financing Bank of the Year by the BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled a technology adoption assessment survey for registered capital market operators as part of efforts to deepen innovation and efficiency in the Nigerian capital market.
In a circular, the SEC stated that the exercise was designed to evaluate the level of adoption of advanced technologies among CMOs operating within the Nigerian capital market.
According to the notice, “The following technology adoption survey is designed by the Commission to assess the adoption of advanced technologies among registered Capital Market Operators.”
The SEC directed all registered operators to log into the e-portal at using their current access credentials to complete the survey. The exercise will run for two weeks, from 5 to 20 May 2025.
Speaking recently on the role of innovation in the capital market, Emomotimi Agama, director-general of the SEC, urged stakeholders to embrace technology as a catalyst for growth, improved transparency, operational efficiency, and market resilience.
He noted that the SEC recognises the emergence of new financial products and services driven by technological advancements, and remains committed to adapting its regulatory framework to meet the evolving needs of the market.
According to him, the commission’s approach to innovation is anchored on three pillars: investor safety, market deepening, and problem-solving aimed at building a robust and efficient capital market ecosystem.
Agama also highlighted the commission’s Regulatory Incubation Programme, which allows fintech startups to operate within a controlled environment for one year while appropriate rules are developed to govern their activities.
He said the programme is part of the SEC’s broader strategy to support innovation while safeguarding market integrity and investor interests.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) ,has confirmed that Nigeria has fully repaid about US$3.4 billion loan it got in April 2020 under the Rapid Financing Instrument to help alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices.
IMF said the loan has been repaid as of April 30, 2025 in a statement issued in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital on Thursday.
However, IMF said Nigeria is still expected to honour some additional payments in forms of Special Drawing Rights charges hat will amount to US$30 million annually.
“In line with the IMF’s Articles of Agreements, these charges, levied at the SDR interest rate, which is updated at the beginning of each week, apply to the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings (SDR 3,164 million) (US$4.3 billion) and its cumulative SDR allocation (SDR 4,027 million) (US$5.5 billion)
“The net payment of the charges stops when Nigeria’s SDR holdings reach the cumulative allocation amount,” IMF said in the statement. Online fitness
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Fidelity Bank grows PBT by 167.8% to N105.8 billion in Q1 2025
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