Polaris Bank Plc has expressed dismay at the resort to misleading social media posts by one of its customers, Anthony Olasele, in spite of efforts by the Bank so far to treat the customer’s protest.
In a bid to clarify the misunderstanding on the customer’s account, the bank’s management, in a statement, said that “further to our earlier post, we wish to reiterate the following: Polaris Bank did not declare the customer dead, but was in receipt of court documents stating so, and the bank, in such a circumstance, has a duty to respect such documents so as to protect the customer’s deposit.
“Recall that the said court papers, including Bank Certificate (dated May 2, 2023); Statutory Affidavit of Next of Kin issued by Probate Registry of a High Court of Justice, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and together with a death certificate issued by National Population Commission (NPC), Abuja Municipal Area Council, were presented to the bank on May 11, 2023 by one Olasele Tina a.k.a Tina Olasele, who claims to be a widow of the ‘deceased’ customer, Anthony Olasele.
“The Bank had, following this information, immediately flagged the account of the customer, pending the conclusion of the issuance of the Letters of Administration. We have also confirmed the said Bank Certificate was genuinely obtained from the Court.”
According to the statement, “processing Letters of Administration is purely a family affair without any input whatsoever on the part of the bank or its staff. It is therefore expected that the customer, who currently claims to reside in Spain, investigate members of his family with the name of Olasele Tina a.k.a Tina Olasele (the person that processed the above referred papers from Court).”
It added: “Following the customer’s protest and confirmation by the bank that the customer is indeed alive, the bank has availed his lawyer the documents since May 16, 2023.
“The primary concern of Polaris Bank is to always protect the customers’ funds first. We are working closely with all stakeholders, including security agencies and the customer, to expedite the process. Once the process is completed, satisfactorily, the Bank will lift the PND, and the customer will access his funds. That is the statutory process.
“Preliminary findings from internal investigation launched into the customer’s claim of collusion to defraud him has so far revealed otherwise.
“We kindly advise the customer, Mr. Anthony Olasele, family, friends and social media agents to allow the process to be completed,” the Bank said in the statement.
