NIBSS Sues Banks Over N13.66bn Glitch-Related Loss

The Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) has approached the Federal High Court in Lagos to seek an urgent order to freeze accounts linked to an unauthorized transfer amounting to N13.66 billion. This request follows a significant glitch in NIBSS's payment platform that occurred between September 6 and September 9, 2024.

The motion filed in court aims to direct affected banks to place a post-no-debit (PND) restriction on accounts that received funds from these unauthorized transactions. Responding to the suit are several banks, including Access Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria, and Zenith Bank Plc, among others.

NIBSS claims that the glitch allowed unauthorized transfers without corresponding debit instructions from the originating accounts, leading to unexpected behavior in the system. Upon discovering the transactions, NIBSS contacted the banks to request restrictions on the accounts, but the banks insisted on obtaining a court order.

The total amount involved in the unauthorized transactions is stated as N13,662,138,920.00.