A customer and her company have dragged First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, demanding N5 billion in damages over the alleged unauthorised disclosure of confidential banking information to a third party.
The claimants, First Tirad Global Resources Ltd and its majority shareholder, accused the bank of breaching its duty of confidentiality by allegedly releasing the company’s account statement to a person who had no authorisation to access its financial records, Saturday Guardian reports.
In the suit, marked FCT/HC/NY/255/2026, the claimants alleged that the disclosure exposed sensitive financial, commercial and personal information, including details they said compromised the second claimant’s residential privacy.
The suit was instituted through their counsel, Oluchi Vivian Uche, Esq., Okueyelegbe Sylvanus Maliki, Esq., and others.
According to the statement of claim, First Tirad Global Resources maintained a corporate account with FCMB, with the second claimant listed as the sole authorised signatory.
The claimants alleged that the bank released the account statement without their knowledge, consent or authorisation, contrary to its obligations to protect customers’ confidential financial information.
They traced the alleged disclosure to April 8, 2026, when a third party reportedly contacted a former FCMB account officer, identified as Taofeeq Are, through WhatsApp, requesting the company’s account statement covering January 1 to April 8, 2026.
The claimants alleged that Are was subsequently contacted by a serving FCMB account officer, identified as Olutunde Oyasola, who generated the statement and sent screenshots to him.
Those screenshots were allegedly forwarded to the third party through WhatsApp.
The claimants maintained that the transaction was unauthorised and amounted to a breach of the bank’s duty to safeguard customers’ financial and commercial information.
The second claimant further alleged that the statement contained sensitive information, including details of a rent payment that exposed her residential address and compromised her personal privacy.
She contended that the disclosure not only exposed the company’s confidential financial affairs but also created concerns about the security of her personal information.
FCMB Allegedly Admitted Breach
The claimants said they subsequently lodged a formal complaint with FCMB, demanding an investigation into how the account statement was obtained and disclosed.
According to the statement of claim, the bank, in a letter dated July 8, 2026, allegedly described the disclosure as “wholly unauthorised” and inconsistent with its internal policies, data protection obligations and ethical standards.
They further alleged that FCMB acknowledged in the letter that Oyasola had generated the statement and shared screenshots with Are, who subsequently forwarded them to the third party.
Relying on the alleged admission, the claimants are asking the court to declare that the disclosure was unlawful and constituted a breach of the bank’s duty of confidentiality to First Tirad Global Resources.
They are also seeking a declaration that the alleged disclosure of the company’s confidential information and the second claimant’s personal information violated applicable privacy and data protection obligations.
In addition, they want the court to hold FCMB liable for negligence and for the alleged acts or omissions of its employees in connection with the incident.
Claimants Demand N5bn Damages
The claimants are demanding N5 billion in general, aggravated and/or exemplary damages over the alleged unauthorised disclosure, breach of confidentiality, negligence, breach of contractual and statutory obligations, invasion of privacy, and the consequential losses and business exposure they claim to have suffered.
They are also seeking an order restraining the bank from further disclosing, disseminating or using the disputed account statement.
Other reliefs include an order directing FCMB to pay the cost of the action and a declaration that the subsequent exhibition and reliance on the disputed bank statement in court proceedings caused additional prejudice and injury to their interests.
The claimants contend that the alleged disclosure compromised the confidentiality of their financial records and exposed them to potential risks arising from the circulation of sensitive information beyond authorised channels.
The court is yet to determine the matter.
As at the time of the report, FCMB had not filed a response to the allegations.
