Umma Aminu Dutse, director, Consumer Protection Department of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that the apex bank has recovered over N13 billion excessive illegal deductions made on consumers of financial products and services provided by commercial banks in the past two years.
Dutse disclosed this in Enugu yesterday during the take-off of the Consumer Financial Literacy Awareness Campaign, said the apex bank would continue to sanction commercial banks for infractions committed against consumers of their various products.
Represented by Hajiya Khadija Kassim, Deputy Director said that the recoveries were as a result of complaints from consumers, stressing that it involved all commercial banks in Nigeria.
Explaining that there was no going back in the effort towards protecting consumers, he added that the department was created to enlighten consumers on the products and services that fall under the banking system following the global financial crisis and technology global age.
The CBN, he added, was committed to implementing structures that ensure that consumers obtain optimal benefits from available financial products and services which would result in not only enabling them take charge of their financial well-being but also facilitate economic growth and development.
The director who frowned at various unsolicited text messages to consumers of banking services asking them to update their details with banks, including pin numbers, called on Nigerians to ignore such texts or inquire from banks the authenticity of such messages.