In a sweeping response to a significant fraud incident, First Bank has terminated over 100 employees four months after Tijani Muiz Adeyinka, a manager with the operations team, allegedly orchestrated a N40 billion naira fraud.
The mass layoffs, which occurred in July 2024, targeted employees implicated in the failure to detect the fraud.
Adeyinka, who is currently at large, reportedly used his authorization to approve chargebacks to accounts under his control.
According to TechCabal, about 120 employees, including full-time and contract staff from First Bank’s large operations department, received termination letters. The head of transactions at the time was also dismissed.
The sacked employees were accused of negligence, with First Bank’s management asserting that a fraud of such scale and duration could not have occurred without the knowledge of Adeyinka’s superiors.
“The CEO said there will be zero tolerance for supervisory negligence,” revealed an insider.
Adeyinka, the final line of authorization on his team, allegedly carried out the scheme undetected for two years. After the fraud was discovered in March, the bank initially attempted to keep the matter confidential, suspending several operations team members indefinitely.
However, the bank’s approach shifted to a more aggressive stance once the fraud became public.
Several employees were questioned by the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) and detained at the Lion’s Building for at least six hours.
National Wave reported that a source with direct knowledge of the incident said “Those employees needed to post bail before they were released. Restrictions have been placed on all their personal accounts except their First Bank accounts.”
Efforts to obtain comments from Chinwe Bode Akinwade of First Bank’s Corporate Communications department were unsuccessful, as calls to her line went unanswered and she has not responded to messages regarding the matter.
The bank’s stringent actions reflect its commitment to tightening internal controls and preventing similar incidents in the future.
As investigations continue, the financial institution aims to restore confidence among its stakeholders and the general public.