December 02, (THEWILL) – Operations at the United Bank for Africa, Onopa branch in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, were disrupted on Monday morning as aggrieved ex-militant leaders from various camps staged a protest over alleged fraud and the unauthorized freezing of a member’s account.
The protesters, wielding placards with inscriptions such as “Stop the fraud,” “Unfreeze Akpos’ account,” and “Motion on notice is not a court order,” left customers stranded for hours and paralyzed economic activities at the bank.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Hon. Okegbe Owei Brisibe, Secretary of the Second Phase Presidential Amnesty Programme , described the protest as a legitimate response to what they termed an unlawful action by the bank.
“There was a magistrate court order vacating an earlier claim, but instead of following due process, they went to obtain a motion on notice to freeze another member’s account. We consider this an illegal act,” Brisibe stated.
The protesters accused the bank’s Customer Service Manager, Peter Edafe, of masterminding the freezing of Mr. Passman Akpos’ account without proper legal backing.
The account holder at the center of the controversy, Mr. Passman Akpos, described the bank’s action as a violation of his rights.
“How can a bank freeze my account based on a motion on notice? This is a clear conspiracy between the bank and one of their customers who wants to block my account over baseless claims,” Akpos lamented.
Akpos also emphasised the ripple effects of the situation, noting that many ex-agitators depend on the funds held in his account to receive their stipends.
“They have promised to resolve the issue and unfreeze my account so that disbursement to others can commence. Until this is done, we will not leave the bank,” he added.
Commander Isreal Claudius, another protest leader, confirmed that the bank had agreed to unfreeze the account and resolve the matter amicably. He stated that the protesters acted within the law and cooperated with security agents who intervened.
“We have given them time to sort out the issue. If they fail to do so, they will bear the consequences of their illegal action,” Claudius warned.
Efforts to get a response from the branch manager were unsuccessful. He declined to comment, citing his recent transfer to the branch, but assured that efforts were underway to resolve the matter.
As of the time of filing this report, normal banking activities were gradually resuming at the affected branch.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
