● A Bank’s Treachery: When Safe Haven Becomes a Den of Deceit
● From Guardian to Usurper: The Shocking Tale of a Bank’s Unauthorized Collateral Use
The fortress of trust, the citadel where wealth finds sanctuary, the institution that ought to embody the solemn vows of fiduciary duty—this is what a bank is meant to be. But when that hallowed citadel turns into a labyrinth of deceit, when the hands meant to safeguard wealth morph into fingers that pilfer, the damage is not just financial; it is existential. Such is the scandal now rocking Access Bank, a behemoth of the Nigerian banking industry, accused of brazenly leveraging a customer’s property as collateral for a loan he neither requested nor authorized. This is not just a financial crime; it is a seismic betrayal that shakes the very foundation of trust in the banking sector. …CONTINUE READING
Access Bank has cast a long and dark shadow. No doubt. At the heart of this scandal lies the story of Gbolahan Obanikoro, a businessman whose property, a prized asset of his company, MOB Integrated Services, was illicitly deployed as collateral for a staggering N1 billion loan granted to DDSS International Company Limited. The labyrinthine layers of this audacious act reveal a saga of betrayal, legal battles, and the unraveling of a bank’s integrity.
The genesis of this financial treachery traces back to May 21, 2013, when the now-defunct Diamond Bank, later acquired by Access Bank, approved a N193 million loan for Balmoral International Limited. The security for that transaction? The very property located at 40B Bourdillion Road, Ikoyi, Lagos—an asset belonging not to Balmoral, but to MOB Integrated Services, under the stewardship of Obanikoro. At the time, the collateralization had been authorized, sealed with the understanding that it would serve as a temporary safeguard for the facility extended.
Yet, when Balmoral International Limited dutifully repaid its loan, what should have been the logical conclusion of a financial agreement metamorphosed into something far more sinister. Long after the loan had been settled, the bank, without so much as a whisper to the rightful owner, wielded the same property as collateral once again—this time, in favor of an entirely different entity.
On May 16, 2019, six years after the initial loan, Access Bank, in a staggering display of audacity, granted DDSS International Company Limited a N1 billion loan. The purpose? To finance the purchase of luxury cars. The collateral? None other than the property at 40B Bourdillion Road, Ikoyi—a property whose owner had no business dealings with DDSS International, had not authorized its use, and had not been consulted.
The paperwork bore the signatures of Bukola Shoyombo, a Relationship Officer in the bank’s Business Banking Division, and Oreoluwa Roy-Egbokhan, a Relationship Manager. Their claim? That the property had undergone ‘comprehensive perfection’ and was duly ‘held by the bank’ as security for the loan. But therein lay the deception—because, in reality, the property had no legal ties to the transaction whatsoever.
As the news of this financial slight unraveled, legal fireworks erupted. A formal complaint was lodged, accusing Access Bank of outright theft—an allegation so grave that the Lagos State Government took action. A four-count charge of conspiracy, stealing, and attempted theft was filed against the Managing Director of Balmoral International Limited, Adejare Adegbenro; Balmoral International Limited itself; Access Bank; Bolaji Agbede; and DDSS International Company Limited.
The prosecution’s case was chillingly clear: the defendants had colluded to deploy a property they did not own as collateral for a loan that was neither solicited nor sanctioned by the rightful owner. The Lagos State High Court, presided over by Justice Ibironke Harrison, wasted no time in taking a firm stance. When the defendants repeatedly failed to appear for their arraignment, the court issued a bench warrant for their arrest, further cementing the gravity of the allegations against them.
This scandal is more than a tale of corporate malfeasance—it is a wound inflicted upon the very soul of banking integrity. Banks do not merely exist as custodians of wealth; they thrive on trust, an unspoken yet binding covenant with their customers. When that trust is shattered, the repercussions echo far beyond the immediate players in the scandal.
For every unsuspecting customer who entrusts their assets to a financial institution, this case sends a chilling warning: what guarantees do they have that their properties, their wealth, their financial lifelines will not be hijacked for nefarious purposes?
For investors who pour their capital into the economy, believing that regulatory frameworks and banking ethics will protect their interests, this episode exposes the cracks in the financial fortress.
For Nigeria’s financial sector, which strives to maintain its credibility on the global stage, such blatant misconduct risks eroding investor confidence, sending dangerous signals that due process can be bent and legal safeguards easily circumvented.
As the legal battles rage on and the embers of this scandal burn with unrelenting intensity, Access Bank finds itself at a precarious crossroads. Will it take responsibility for its actions, uphold its fiduciary duty, and restore the confidence of its customers? Or will this case unravel further, exposing deeper layers of systemic rot within Nigeria’s banking industry?
One thing is certain: the financial world is watching. And as the gavel of justice looms, Access Bank must reckon with the consequences of betraying the very trust upon which it was built.
