TAJ Bank Ltd has formally discontinued a lawsuit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the recovery of ₦957.4 million mistakenly transferred to customer accounts across 26 banks and fintech platforms following a major system glitch in March 2025.
The development comes just over a year after a similar incident in which ₦139.6 million was erroneously debited from TAJ Bank and later frozen by court order. However, the latest glitch appears to have ended without judicial intervention.
According to court documents reviewed by Naijaonpoint, TAJ Bank initially filed the suit on June 11, 2025, claiming the funds were unlawfully transferred from its accounts due to a server malfunction and subsequently moved into third-party accounts held by customers of the defendant financial institutions.
The bank’s legal team cited the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Regulatory Framework for Bank Verification Number (BVN) Operations and requested that the court order the freezing, blocking, and reversal of the affected funds. The sum of ₦957,394,438.94 was said to have been moved between March 9 and 10, 2025.
On June 27, 2025, TAJ Bank’s counsel, Rilwanu Idris, Esq., moved an ex parte application asking the court to order a post-no-debit freeze on the affected accounts. Idris argued that the glitch had caused significant financial hardship and that the funds, now allegedly with the 26 institutions, risked being dissipated if not quickly recovered.
“The court has the power to intervene,” he said. “If not, the money will go.”
However, Justice Muhammad Umar declined the request for an interim freezing order, directing instead that the financial institutions be put on notice and served with court processes. The matter was adjourned to July 21 for hearing.
At the resumed session, TAJ Bank, through its lawyer T.O. Nworie, filed a notice of discontinuance.
“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 on July 17, 2025,” Nworie said.
Justice Umar subsequently struck out the case, bringing the suit to an abrupt end without any resolution of the alleged unauthorized transfers.
The March 2025 glitch was not TAJ Bank’s first. In August 2024, the bank obtained an interim freezing order from Justice Peter Lifu against multiple accounts at FairMoney Microfinance Bank and other platforms, following another erroneous transfer of ₦139.6 million.
At the time, the court granted reliefs sought by TAJ Bank, mandating the reversal of the credited amounts and placing the target accounts under restriction.
The recent case underscores the growing legal and operational challenges Nigerian banks face in the digital age, especially as fraud losses escalate.
According to data cited by Naijaonpoint, Nigerian banks recorded fraud-related losses of ₦52.26 billion from over 70,000 transactions in 2024—more than quadruple the ₦11.61 billion lost in 2023. A significant portion of these losses arose from electronic transactions and system vulnerabilities.
Dr. Tope Fasoranti, an economist and digital transformation consultant, emphasized the need for stronger banking security, greater regulatory coordination, and public awareness.
“Institutions must prioritize prevention and cross-sector collaboration,” Fasoranti said. “This is critical for safeguarding digital financial services and preserving trust.”