TAJ Bank Ltd suffered another system glitch in March this year, leading to unauthorized transfers of a staggering N957.4 million to several accounts in 26 banks and fintech platforms.
This came nearly a year after the bank faced a similar system glitch that moved N139.6 million from its system.
However, in a surprising twist, the bank has withdrawn its case seeking the reversal of the unauthorized debits from the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Naijaonpoint learnt that the court had earlier declined TAJ Bank’s interim freezing and post-no-debit request against the 26 financial institutions.
According to court documents exclusively reviewed by Naijaonpoint, TAJ Bank— which eventually discontinued its suit on July 21, 2025—argued that, under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Regulatory Framework for Banking Verification (BVN) Operations and Watchlist for the Nigerian Banking Industry (2017), the identified institutions were empowered to block, freeze, and reverse back to it the sum of N957,394,438.94 traced to customer accounts.
The bank described the monies as having been illegally debited and “transferred from the accounts of the Plaintiff to the accounts of the customers of the 1-26 Defendants respectively following the system glitch in the Plaintiff’s server.”
In the bank’s suit filed June 11, 2025 (marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1132/2025 and seen by Naijaonpoint), TAJ Bank approached the court, stating the Plaintiff was severely affected by the effects of the system glitch.
“An order of this Honourable Court directing the 1st–26th Defendants to comply with the Central Bank Guidelines Nos. BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/02/004 of 2015, BPS/DIR/GEN/CIR/05/011 of 2018 and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Regulatory Framework for Banking Verification (BVN) Operations and Watchlist for the Nigerian Banking Industry, October 2017 by blocking or placing ‘No Debit’ restriction on the sum/monies to the extent of the sums illegally received into the respective bank accounts of the 1st–26th Defendants’ customers’ accounts following a system glitch from the Plaintiff’s server on the 9th and 10th day of March, 2025 as listed in the documents marked as EXHIBITS TAJ D1-D8 pending the complete/full refund/reversal,” the bank prayed.
At the court session before Justice Muhammad Umar on June 27, 2025, TAJ Bank’s lawyer, Rilwanu Idris, Esq., appeared and announced his motion ex parte against the identified financial institutions.
Idris stated, “The money had already been deducted, all the respondents concerned are in business, and if you ask them to produce this money, they will.”
Ruling on TAJ Bank’s motion for an interim freezing order, Justice Umar held that “The ex-Parte application(by TAJ Bank) is refused”.
“We want to bring to the notice of this Court that in line with the Rules of this Court, we filed a Notice of Discontinuance, and we want the Court to take notice of that. It was filed on 17th July, 2025,” the lawyer said.
Naijaonpoint previously reported in August 2024 that the Federal High Court in Abuja, per Justice Peter Lifu, granted an interim freezing order against several accounts at Fair Money Micro-finance Bank Ltd and others.
The order mandated the organizations to reverse N139,630,000 credited to some customers and account holders as a result of a “system glitch” at TAJ Bank Ltd.
The bank’s legal team explained that if all accounts listed in its exhibits (belonging to alleged fraud perpetrators) were not urgently blocked or placed on no-debit restriction and the unlawfully obtained amounts reversed, there would be further dissipation of monies belonging to TAJ Bank’s customers.
Justice Lifu granted the interim request from TAJ Bank while ordering TAJ Bank to undertake to protect or insure the identified fintech platforms against any losses should emerging facts render the interim orders inappropriate.
Justice Lifu granted the interim request from TAJ Bank while ordering TAJ Bank to undertake to protect or insure the identified fintech platforms against any losses should emerging facts render the interim orders inappropriate.
This development highlights the complexities of legal disputes involving banks after system glitches.
While the Federal High Court has authority to preside over such issues, the parties must prove their case before a matter can be concluded.
An Economist, banker, and Consultant on Digital Transformation, Dr Tope Fasoranti, advises that safer banking habits, stronger institutional security frameworks, and deeper collaboration among stakeholders can help financial institutions minimize risks while enabling continued enjoyment of a secure and efficient digital financial system.
Fraud losses among Nigerian banks reached N52.26 billion from over 70,000 transactions in 2024, according to Naijaonpoint, citing the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).