KUDA Bank has said the event leading up to one of its customers being forcibly dragged out of its office by law enforcement officers is a result of the customer’s refusal to cooperate with the security agents after his account was flagged for criminal activity.
In a statement on Kuda’s verified Twitter handle, the microfinance bank said none of its staff was involved in the unfortunate incident that was captured in a video that had since gone viral.
The bank, however, noted that as a financial institution fully licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, it was required to comply with the mandates of all applicable government and law enforcement agencies.
The statement read in part; “It has come to our attention that a couple of videos are being circulated online regarding the experience of one of our customers yesterday. The videos show the customer being forcefully escorted off our premises by members of the Nigerian Police Force. We wish to unequivocally state that Kuda Microfinance Bank Limited does not condone or support such violence in any manner, particularly against its customers.”
“Having said the foregoing, as a financial institution licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, we have an obligation to comply with all the mandates of all applicable government and law and law enforcement agencies, supported by appropriate documentation.”
The statement added that the affected customer became embroiled in a physical altercation with law enforcement officers after he refused to cooperate with investigations surrounding criminal activity in his account.
It added, “It is truly unfortunate that the customer’s failure to cooperate with law enforcement officers unfolded in the manner that it did, particularly as the customer was being apprehended by members of the Nigerian Police Force further to their investigation into alleged criminal activity on the customer’s account.”
Meanwhile, the bank has come under serious criticism as several Nigerians took to social media to condemn the manner in which the bank allowed its customer to be harassed over unfounded allegations.
@DrOlufunmilayo wrote, “Kuda Bank is getting the police to oppress someone that has over N1m in his bank account. You that all your savings is N45,000, you are here defending them. I pity you. Actually, I don’t pity you.”
@DrPenking said, “Just saw a story where someone said that Kuda Bank locked his account because of suspicion of fraud and when he went to their office, they intimidated him with police. Kuda Bank was very amazing and young people celebrated it and called it Bank of the Free just a year ago.”
