A Moniepoint Microfinance Bank customer, Oluchi Faith Oha, has reportedly been unable to recover N220,000 she mistakenly transferred to an OPay account belonging to Chukwubuike Stanley Udeze.
Oha reportedly made the erroneous transfer on September 8 while at a market, saying the money was meant to repay a loan she had obtained with the assistance of her husband.
According to a report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Udeze’s OPay account number is linked to his phone number, which was previously connected to a WhatsApp account bearing his profile picture.
Oha said she immediately called the number after realising that she had transferred the money to the wrong account.
“Upon realising it was sent to an incorrect account, I immediately called the number. He answered and told me he was in a vehicle and that he would check and get back to me. I was a bit relieved,” she said.
According to her, Udeze later called back and asked her to send her account details so he could refund the money after getting home.
Oha said she subsequently sent him her OPay account details, which she said carried the same name as her Moniepoint account, to make the refund easier and avoid transfer charges.
However, she alleged that Udeze stopped responding to her calls later that day.
“I continued dialling his number and he kept giving me excuses. He then stopped picking his calls. I begged him over and again to no avail,” she said.
Oha said she later discovered that the phone number was linked to a WhatsApp account and sent him a message, but the profile was subsequently deactivated.
She said she contacted both Moniepoint and OPay for assistance but was advised to obtain a court order to enable the financial institutions to block the account.
According to Oha, she also sought police assistance but was allegedly asked to provide N40,000 to facilitate efforts to trace Udeze.
“I thought the police could help. When I turned to them, they asked me to bring N40,000 for them to track him. I don’t have the money now because I now have to borrow elsewhere to pay the loan,” she said.
Oha said a friend later managed to reach Udeze by phone and confronted him about the unpaid money.
She alleged that his response was, “e no concern me,” before he ended the call.
FIJ reportedly made repeated attempts to contact Udeze between Tuesday and Thursday, calling him at least twice daily, but the calls reportedly rang out.
He also allegedly failed to respond to an SMS sent to him on Tuesday.
The phone number Oha had previously contacted through WhatsApp was reportedly no longer active on the messaging platform when FIJ checked it.
Oha is now seeking assistance to recover the N220,000, which she says she urgently needs to repay the loan for which the money was originally intended.
