Finance
EFCC has no power to investigate or recover civil contract debts, court rules
BY: Justice Godfry
A Federal High Court, Ibadan, has ruled the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has no power to arrest anyone or investigate cases of debt recovery arising from breach of contract.
Justice J. O. Abdulmalik in an April 1, 2019 damning judgment, a copy of which was obtained by The Nation, declared that the EFCC Act 2004 does not empower the commission to arrest, detain anyone or investigate cases of breach of contract in business transactions.
It held that the commission only has power to arrest, detain or investigate financial crimes, not civil transactions.
He gave the judgment in a case dragged before him by an Ibadan-based business man, Elder Francis Morakinyo Afolabi, through his lawyer, Mr. Joshua Olaniyan, against the commission and five others. Afolabi dragged the EFCC to court for his arrest, torture and freezing of his bank account based on a petition submitted on him by Mr Kehinde Olaniyan who trades under the name Kehinde R. Olaniyan Nigeria Enterprises over failure to fulfill his part of a business transaction worth N14 million with the latter in 2015.
The petition was submitted to the Ibadan zonal office of the commission, upon which it invited Afolabi.
Other respondents are three investigating officers of the commission and First Bank of Nigeria PLC in whose Afolabi’s Account was frozen.
The complainant was admitted to bail while his bank account was frozen pending the completion of its ‘investigations’.
But Afolabi dragged the commission and other respondents to court seeking a declaration of his arrest and freezing of account illegal as well as publication of a public apology in two national dailies that are popular in Ibadan.
He also sought N100 million damages against the six respondents in the case.
Citing the case of Lima versus Mohammed (1999) LPELR-1973 (Supreme Court), the judge declared that “an aggrieved party in a breach of contract is to seek for civil redress by way of insisting on actual performance of the contract or seek damages for the breach.” Justice Abdulmalik pointed out that it has become fashionable for some Nigerians to use law enforcement agents to retrieve debts arising from civil transactions instead of approaching the court to do so, possibly in an attempt to dodge lawyers’ professional fees.
The judge also held that Afolabi’s fundamental human rights were breached through his arrest and freezing of his bank account. He, therefore, awarded N500, 000 damages to the applicant but absolved the bank, stressing it was under obligation to honour the request from the EFCC for the account freezing being a commission empowered to do such.
The judge set aside the directive freezing Afolabi’s bank account.
For justice to be done, the court also held that Mr Olaniyan, who dragged Afolabi to the EFCC, should publish a public apology in a national daily whose circulation is popular in Ibadan.
Among the seven issues formulated, six were resolved in favour of Afolabi.
The court held that the commission has no power to investigate or resolve disputes arising from civil contracts, is not a debt recovery agency, declared freezing of Afolabi’s bank account illegal, declared his arrest as a breach of his fundamental human rights and a form of torture.
He declared: “On issues one, two, three and four of the applicants, there is no gainsaid that the 1st respondent (EFCC) does not have the power to resolve or and investigate disputes arising from contracts or civil transaction.
“Also, as reiterated in a plethora of judicial authorities, the 1st respondent is not a debt recovery agent.”
The judge referred to, among others, Section 6B of the EFCC Act 2004 Laws of Federation of Nigeria which states that the commission shall be responsible for the investigation of all financial crimes including advance fee fraud, money laundering, counterfeiting, illegal charge transfers, future market fraud, fraudulent encashment or negotiable instruments, computer credit card fraud, contract scam etc.
He insisted the transaction between Afolabi and Olaniyan was civil, pointing out failure to honour terms of contract does not amount to a crime.
He said it is strictly a civil transaction that is outside the powers of the commission irrespective of the garb the commission put on the matter.
“Carefully from the above facts, I do find that irrespective of the descriptive inventory lexicon employed by the 5th respondent Mr Kehinde Olaniyan) to title his petition or report to the 1st respondent, it does not dissipate the facts on the ground from being that of a civil transaction of contract which has gone wrong.
“To cushion my point, the 5th respondent’s report to the 1st respondent can be tantamount to a cry of ‘help me collect my money from the applicant’.
“Otherwise, the question will be ‘what does the 5th respondent really want the 1st to 4th respondents to investigate?’ There is no mystery about the fact, the 5th respondent supplied applicants goods worth N14,611,820:00 which has not been paid for…
“The ‘investigation power’ vested on the 1st respondent is in relation o the commission of a crime, and not a civil transaction, as simple as recovery of debt. The requisite sections of the E inimical and Financial Crimes Commission (Est) Act Laws of Federation of Nigeria 2004 as aforementioned all referred to instance and occasion of suspicion crime.”
Source: The Nation
Finance
NGX Boss, Umaru Kwairanga, to Chair Business Journal Fintech Roundtable 2025
By Our Correspondent
Dr. Umaru Kwairanga, Group Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) will Chair the 2nd Business Journal Fintech & Financial Inclusion Roundtable 2025 scheduled for Friday, August 29, 2025 at Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos. Time is 10-am prompt.
The theme of the Roundtable is: Fintech & Financial Inclusion: The Opportunities & Challenges for Nigeria.
In a statement, Prince Cookey, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Business Journal Media Group said the choice of Umaru Kwairanga to chair the event is a reflection of his immense and chequered journey in the Nigerian economic system over the years.
“Dr. Umaru Kwairanga is a noted player in the Nigerian economy and financial services sector. Over the years, he has carved a positive niche in driving the narrative in national policy formulation, implementation and review. He remains a worthy point of reference and role model to current and future players in the Nigerian economy.”
Alhaji (Dr.) Umaru Kwairanga, Sarkin Fulani Gombe and Group Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), is a notable player in the Nigerian corporate world, a thorough-bred professional and a prominent community leader in Gombe State and the North East region.
He has served at the highest levels of the banking, pension, investment, manufacturing and commercial sectors of Nigeria’s economy. He is the current Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Nigeria’ oldest stock exchange and also Chairman of Tangerine General Insurance Limited.
The NGX Chairman is also a Director on the Boards of First Bank Senegal Limited, Tangerine Apt Pensions Limited and the Group Managing Director of Finmal Finance Services Limited.
He is a past Chairman of Ashaka Cement plc and previously served on the Boards of Jaiz Bank Plc, Central Securities Clearing System Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc and First Bank Mortgages Limited to mention a few.
Professionally, Alhaji Kwairanga is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, Chartered Institute of Directors of Nigeria, the Certified Pension Institute of Nigeria and the Abuja Commodities and Securities Exchange.
He is also a Council Member of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers; the Chartered Institute of Directors and he is the current President of the Certified Pensions Institute of Nigeria.
Kwairanga is a holder of the prominent traditional title of Sarkin Fulani Gombe and has led several initiatives for peace and development in Gombe State and the North East region in general.
He has also been involved in policy and strategy formulation in the public sector as a Member of the Vision 2020 Committee, the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan and several committees of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Improved efforts at collaboration among financial service providers, telecommunication operators, and tech Startups, with conscious effort geared at consumer awareness, have been proffered as key remedies to the challenge of financial inclusion in the country.
This is the viewpoint of stakeholders that gathered for the second edition of Payment Forum Nigeria (PAFON 2.0) held recently in Lagos.
Delivering a keynote address on the theme, “Bridging the Customer Experience Gap for Financial Inclusion Using AI”, Ebehijie Momoh (Mrs.), the managing director and chief executive officer of AfriGoPay Financial Services Limited, said that with 64% of Nigerian adults being financial included the country has made immense progress in that regards.
She said that between 2012 till date, the country has recorded robust regulatory reforms, especially the launch of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) in 2014 making it easier to identify and track customers across different banks.
“This initiative enhanced the credibility of the financial sector and increased confidence in formal banking systems.
The growth in adoption of smartphones has also helped the financial sector to leapfrog financial inclusion. Nigeria has 142.16 mobile internet subscriptions with an average consumption of ~7.04GB / month as of January 2025. If you juxtapose it to the 15.9% decline in shipments of feature phones to 18.8 million units in Africa as at Q1 2024, you will understand that the uptake in smartphones has helped us a great deal.
Mrs. Momoh who spoke through Mr. Munachi Duru, the head of Innovation and Strategic Partnership at AfriGoPay, said the adoption of artificial intelligence banking gave birth to solutions like smile identity, a leading KYC verification provider launches facial recognition capabilities in Nigeria as neobanks and commercial banks are deploying AI-based KYC verification tools, enabling cheaper and efficient customer acquisition and servicing.
In her goodwill message, Mrs. Uche Uzoebo, MD/CEO, Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities Limited (SANEF) Limited said that with progress made in accelerating financial inclusion to unbanked and underbanked communities in Nigeria, SANEF has leveraged Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the next step to advancement in financial services in the country.
She noted that as technology evolves rapidly within the financial ecosystem, Financial Inclusion must continue to be at the center of the nation’s progress.
According to her, agent banking has been a game-changer in expanding financial inclusion across Nigeria. “By deploying agents in underserved areas, we have brought financial services and banking products such as account opening, cash in, cash out, bill payment, transfers and other services closer to the unbanked and underserved.”
Speaking during a panel session, Mr. Ibirogba Oluwagunwa, chairman, Lagos State Chapter of the Association of Mobile Money & Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), spoke of lack of collaboration and slow institutional drive towards AI as key barriers hindering digital inclusion.
He harped on the need for information sharing among fintech operators, and improved free flow of information to consumers. “The human barrier angle needs to be addressed. Fintechs need to be pushed to move forward, AI cannot operate itself.”
In his contribution, Mr. Chika Nwosu, managing director of PalmPay, reiterated the need to reach the consumers with simple format communication and education style.
He said operators should create awareness and design consumer-centric approach in developing any products. This will not only draw the consumers towards the product, but also generate trust and ease the use of such products.
Focusing on the use of AI to ensure reach, inclusion and security, Azure Application and AI Specialist at Microsoft UK, Olusoji Solomon Adeyemo, spoke on the need for AI and Blockchain in the bid to extend services to rural communities and the unbanked.
According to him, “AI, Blockchain and CBDs are shaping the future of payment, and there is a serious need for education. We need to align with global trends in new tech adoption.”
While noting that AI can ensure reach, Adeyomo said blockchain will also create digital identity that is exclusive and will promote digital financial inclusion.
In her position, Oluwabunmi Ogunyemi, the customer support lead at Moniepoint MFB, proffered physical and digital meet with customers, even in rural areas, as a viable means of inclusivity.
Also speaking, Olusegun Afolabi, the co-founder of Face Technologies UK Ltd., called for improved collaborations among stakeholders in the financial sector.
According to him, the fintech companies must also embrace effective identification solutions, focusing on biometrics and card technologies to ensure topnotch security for users.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Mr. Peter Oluka, co-Convener of the Forum, noted that the financial inclusion journey in the country has come to a crucial juncture where over 30 million adults are still financially excluded, many of whom reside in rural areas or belong to vulnerable demographics.
He noted that despite 12% growth in access to formal financial services between 2020 and 2023, as recorded by the EFInA Access to Financial Services Survey 2023, challenges still exist that hinders the unlocking of the potentials of digital payments to drive inclusive growth in Nigeria.
He further posited: “As digital infrastructure grows and fintech innovation accelerates, we must channel these advancements toward building a more inclusive, secure, and trusted financial ecosystem. This is not just about transactions — it’s about empowerment, opportunity, and economic participation for all.
Nodding in agreement, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, co-Convener, PAFON, reiterated the need for all stakeholders in the financial payment industry, including regulators, to participate in forums as PAFON, to map out, growth strategies with consumers and other strata of the ecosystem.
He promised to invite security stakeholders, such as the EFCC and others in subsequent editions of the event. This will help give insight into security concerns in deployment of products and services in rural and unbanked communities.
Payments Forum Nigeria (PAFON) is a platform dedicated to shaping the future of digital payments and financial services in our country.
Finance
Flutterwave Powers Local Businesses in Ghana Through Pay With Bank Transfer
Reporter: Ikenna Ugwu
Flutterwave, a leading payments technology company in Africa, has broadened its reach in Ghana through the integration of Pay With Bank Transfer, done in partnership with Affinity Bank.
With over 115 million bank transfer payments recorded in Ghana in 2023, this move will ensure that Flutterwave businesses in Ghana can now receive payments seamlessly and securely through a rapidly growing payment method. While Mobile Money leads as the preferred payment type for everyday transactions in Ghana, the recent growth in transactions for Pay With Bank Transfer symbolizes the expanding payment options available for Ghanaian businesses.
Flutterwave has a track record of driving innovation in the African finance ecosystem, and this new development promises versatility, thereby expanding the pool of customers available to businesses. As a preferred payment method, it also promises faster payments while providing access to a more secure process of transacting which benefits both the sender and the receiver (business).
“We are excited to extend our services to the Ghanaian market” says Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave Founder & CEO“At Flutterwave, we are driven by the vision of building Africa’s economy. By making payment options like Pay With Bank Transfer available for everyday use, we are expanding access to payments and enabling local businesses to thrive in the economy”
By establishing this strategic partnership, Flutterwave aims to drive the adoption of the Pay With Bank Transfer option in Ghana, using virtual accounts to allow for secure and transparent payments. This will provide enterprises and small businesses with a simpler way to receive payments and give their customers a seamless process of making payments.
Geoffrey Fiador, Manager, Country Operations and Partnerships, at Flutterwave stated: “By delivering essential payment options like Pay With Bank Transfer for businesses in Ghana, we’re providing an easy way for them to increase their revenue opportunities to grow their businesses. ”
This announcement comes at the heels of Flutterwave’s recent approval by the Bank of Ghana to provide inward remittance services. With a track record of success across Africa, Flutterwave continues to be a trusted partner for businesses in over 34 countries, providing the tools and expertise necessary for success in the dynamic African market.
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