Lagos, Nigeria – In a significant victory for consumer rights and investigative journalism, Wema Bank has fully refunded N25 million to Isa Aremu Lawal, a Lagos-based contractor, following a series of unauthorized tranches that emptied his account in early May.
The reversal comes exactly six days after an investigative report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) brought the incident to the public eye. Lawal’s son, Malik, confirmed the recovery of the funds on Monday, revealing that the bank attributed the breach to an “insider hack.”
The Incident
On the morning of May 3, 2026, while traveling from Lagos to Akure for a building project, Lawal began receiving a barrage of debit alerts. Within ten minutes, tranches of N4.5 million, N4.2 million, and other large sums were moved to an account identified as ‘Gumel Provision Store.’
Despite Lawal being in possession of his mobile device—a basic “feature phone”—the transactions bypassed all standard security protocols, including One-Time Password (OTP) authorizations. The funds were reportedly earmarked for a construction contract in Ekiti State, including payments for aluminum fittings and POP ceiling work.
The Investigation
Preliminary findings by FIJ traced the recipient account, ‘Gumel Provision Store,’ to a location in the Tundun Murtala area of Kano State. While the refund has restored the victim’s capital, public interest remains high regarding the culpability of the bank’s internal staff.
The case has reignited calls for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the recipient store and for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to tighten regulations regarding “insider threats” within the banking sector.
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