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By Victory Oghene
A former Information Technology (IT) officer at Globus Bank, Idris Babatunde Olayiwola, has dismissed as “baseless” and “untrue”, fraud allegations levelled against him by the bank.
Olayiwola in a statement he personally signed and which was released on his X handle, on Monday, said contrary to allegations by the bank, he did not hack customers’ accounts or steal their funds during his brief stay at the bank and after his resignation.
He said he left the bank due to their shady and unethical transactions at the top level.
According to him, while working with Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) in January 2019, he was assigned the Globus Bank Core Banking Application Project.
He said, “My team and I started the project in January 2019, and the bank went live with the Core Banking Application in November 2019. Upon completion of the project, the Managing Director of the bank, Elias Igbinakenzua, and other top executives of the bank approached me with an offer, which I accepted to oversee their Core Banking Application processes. I officially joined the bank in January 2021.
“Fearing for my career, I decided to leave the bank. I received an offer from KPMG as an Assistant Manager in the Technology and Enablement Department as a Project Manager. I accepted a pay cut to join KPMG in September 2021. My primary reason for leaving was simple: I feared for my life and career as a young man with all the things happening at Globus Bank.
“When the Managing Director of the bank received news of my departure, he was very angry and offered me a lucrative salary, which I declined. In September 2021, I joined KPMG, and my relationship with Globus Bank ended there. KPMG was the best place I worked in my entire career.”
Olayiwola said he later left Nigeria for the UK in May 2022.
“During my stay in the UK, I continued to work with KPMG until I officially resigned in September 2022. Since then, I have been in the UK,” he said.
He described as false, online reports accusing him of working with some staff members at Globus Bank to perpetrate fraud.
“The bank claimed that a fraud occurred and that I was involved. How can this be possible when I have been in the UK since May 2022? My only relationship with Globus Bank since leaving was having a bank account like any other customer”, he said.
He also said claims he employed someone before leaving the bank was untrue as he was not the Human Resource Manager.
Olayiwola said, “Also, it was claimed that I took over a staff password to post transactions. Even at the bank branch level, access to the bank vault or to post transactions was given to two staff members.
“Not only that back-end servers behind the network firewalls but there are also operational procedures and guidelines to ensure no single staff member or IT officer has access at any point in time.
“I am surprised at the manner of allegations coming from an organisation dealing with people’s assets. There is no financial institution anywhere in the world or in Nigeria where a single individual will be given access to critical servers or applications in the bank.
“In December 2023, I noticed an unsolicited account being opened for me at Globus Bank. I received an email about the account opening and immediately informed the bank that I did not authorise it. As someone, who has worked in the bank, I suspected there must be some malpractice going on wherein accounts can be opened for individuals without their authorization. I sent messages to the bank to inform them I did not authorise the opening of any account for me as I don’t need it.
“I was advised to instigate a lawsuit against them for such a scary act. I do not know the purpose behind these actions. I believe someone in the bank perpetrated fraud and looked for an exit plan. As of now, I have not received any call or invitation from the bank or any law enforcement agency regarding these accusations. All I have seen is that the professional reputation and career I am building are being ruined by some individuals who place no value on individual industry.
“Globus Bank may wish to hide some frauds and reckless unethical crises within their organisation, but implicating me is ungodly. Globus Bank was not the last organization I worked for in Nigeria. I left Globus Bank in 2021, as such the attempt to soil my time and reputation with the bank is evil.
“Lastly, it is essential to mention that the main reason I left Globus Bank was due to their shady and unethical transactions at the top level, which I and other top executives were exposed to. I did not threaten to expose these when I left. My goal was to work in a safe environment where I could grow in my career, which is why I moved to KPMG.
“These baseless accusations against me must be addressed with the truth. My professional journey has been one of dedication, integrity, and hard work. I refuse to be a scapegoat for the unethical practices of others. If necessary, I will expose the truth with concrete evidence, supported by testimonies from former top executives of Globus Bank who share my concerns. My reputation, built on years of honest work, will not be tarnished by these false claims. I stand ready to defend my name and set the record straight.”
