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IBTC In Messy Deal As Tribunal Wades In

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Bank transaction Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) sitting in Abuja on Thursday imposed a fine of N120 million against Stanbic-IBTC Bank over the bank’s failure to complete a transfer request for a customer.

 

In a split decision of two to one, the tribunal convicted the bank for contravening the provisions of Section 130(1)(a) of the FCCP Act, 2018 and Section 5(2)(8) and (9) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Regulation on Instant Interbank Electronic Transfers.

 

The tribunal said the fine was imposed due to the bank’s faliure to comply with the 10 minutes or at most one hour mandatory timeline for failed transfers to be reversed as provided by Sections 154 and 155 of the FCCP Act, 2018.The lead judgement delivered by Hon. Sola Salako-Ajulo also ordered the bank to pay the claimant, Mr Clement Osuya, the sum of N1 million as cost of filing the action.

 

“The tribunal holds that in as much as the defendant (IBTC) failed to comply with the two instructions of the claimant to transfer the sums of N500,000 to another account in Access Bank, as no transfer took place at both times, defines that the defendant breached the banker-customer contractual relationship between the two parties,” Ajulo said.

The tribunal, however , refused to award the sum of N5 million to Osuya as compensation on the grounds that he failed to prove any injury he suffered as a result of the failure of service delivery by the bank.

Hon. Ibrahim Yakubu concurred with the verdict of Salako-Ajulo while the presiding judge, Hon. Chuma Mbonu disagreed and gave a minority judgment.

Mbonu in his minority judgment held that the tribunal lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the petition.

According to him, the tribunal has the powers of appellate jurisdiction and not of original jurisdiction and he consequently struck the suit out for lacking in merit.

The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that Osuya had filed a petition against the bank challenging the failure of the bank on two occasions to transfer the sum of N500,000 from his IBTC account to his Access bank account.

He claimed that the money was for the payment of school fees for his children.

He told the tribunal that on Sept. 8, 2022, he filled out a form under NIS Instant Payment option for a transfer of the sum of N500, 000 to his Access Bank account.

He held that whereas the money, on both occasions left his IBTC account as the account was debited, it never arrived his Access bank account because it was not credited.

Osuya told the tribunal that reversal on the first transaction was done after 24 hours while that of the second transaction was reversed after 72 hours.

He further alleged that this neglect of duty of care by the bank caused him trauma, embarrassment and a dent in his reputation as he was forced to collect a loan.

The bank, through its counsel, Mr Marcel Osigbemhe had blamed the failure of the transaction on the third-party NIPS service.

Osigbemhe,in a brief remark expressed his displeasure over the judgment, saying he wondered how his client could be convicted when there were clearly no charges brought against it.

Counsel to the claimant, Ms Deborah Solomon, for her part thanked the Tribunal for the well considered judgment.

The fine is to be paid into the tribunal’s remitta account.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NAN

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Transfer: Real Madrid , Cucurella Reach Verbal Agreement 

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Chelsea reliable defender, Marc Cucurella may join Spanish giant, Real Madrid before the end of the current transfer window.if information from transfer journalist, Fabrizio Romano are anything to go by.

 

Romano In a latest transfer update, said Real Madrid has reached verbal agreement to sign Marc Cucurella from Chelsea.

“Verbal agreement in place between all parties, player too — he’s the left back wanted by Mourinho” the update read.

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Hakimi, Vinicius Barred From Speaking Spanish At World Cup

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FIFA has come under scrutiny after several high-profile players, including Achraf Hakimi and Vinicius Junior, were discouraged from speaking Spanish during media engagements at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States.

 

The issue first surfaced ahead of Morocco’s Group C clash with Brazil when a Spanish-speaking journalist attempted to question Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi in Spanish.

Despite Hakimi, who grew up in Madrid and speaks the language fluently, indicating he was comfortable answering in Spanish, event officials reportedly insisted that questions be asked in English.

Hakimi attempted to reassure organizers that language would not be a barrier, but officials maintained that no Spanish translator was available for the session. A compromise was eventually reached, with the reporter asking the question in Spanish while Hakimi responded in English.

The controversy intensified during Brazil’s media session when Vinicius Junior was also interrupted while responding to a question in Spanish.

The Real Madrid forward, who is more comfortable speaking Portuguese or Spanish than English, was reportedly asked by organizers to switch languages.

Rather than continue in Spanish, Vinicius opted to answer in Portuguese before turning his attention back to Brazil’s World Cup preparations.

The incidents sparked widespread debate among journalists and fans, many of whom questioned why Spanish—a language spoken by millions across North America—was effectively restricted at a tournament being hosted largely in the United States.

According to Spanish media outlet El País, FIFA only provides Spanish-language translation services at World Cup press conferences involving Spanish-speaking nations such as Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.

For all other teams, questions and answers are expected to be conducted either in English or the official language of the participating country.

The policy has generated criticism online, with many supporters arguing that multilingual communication should be encouraged at a global event like the World Cup.

The backlash was particularly strong in Vinicius’ case, as the Brazilian forward appeared visibly uncomfortable being asked to communicate in English.

The controversy overshadowed what was otherwise a highly anticipated encounter between Brazil and Morocco, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

With the issue now drawing international attention, FIFA may face increasing calls to review its media language guidelines as the tournament progresses.

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It’s Illegal’…Falana’s Bombshell Indicts Govs, FG.

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Human rights advocate, Femi Falana, has warned federal and state governments against negotiating with and rewarding terrorists.

 

According to Falana, the practice is illegal.

He stated this while delivering the keynote address at the Amnesty International Second Annual General Meeting in Abuja on June 13, 2026.

Falana claimed it is public knowledge officials of the Federal Government and some State Governments have been holding meetings and negotiating with terrorists and bandits, which has led to thousands of ‘repentant’ criminals being forgiven and given cash gifts of undisclosed sums of money.

Asserting that the “satanic Boko Haram sect and similar bodies have been proscribed” under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, Falana insisted that “their members and allies shall be prosecuted and not pampered and forgiven by the Nigerian State.”

Highlighting the legal consequences, he quoted Section 22 of the Act, stating: “A person who knowingly—(a) arranges, manages, assists in arranging or managing, participates in a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, (b) collects, or provides logistics, equipment, information, articles or facilities for a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, or (c) attends a meeting, which in his knowledge is to support a proscribed entity or to further the objectives of a proscribed entity, commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of at least 20 years.”

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