Tony Elumelu’s UBA defrauds diaspora returnee of N150m–Gwamnishu

Maureen Aguta

Details of how Tony Elumelu’s UBA allegedly defrauded abroad returnee of N150 million which has been trending recently, has emerged.

A popular Nigerian activist Harrison Gwamnishu gave an update on the widely discussed case of a Nigerian returnee who lost ₦150 million from his United Bank for Africa (UBA) account under suspicious circumstances.

The case gained public attention after a video emerged of the victim, who remains unnamed, explained how ₦150 million vanished from his UBA account in 2023. He stated that the bank told him that the money was disbursed to an impostor after receiving reports of his supposed death—despite the fact that he is very much alive and has since returned to Nigeria to claim his funds.

Sharing the victim’s story, Gwamnishu disclosed that those behind the fraud obtained a fake death certificate and used it to secure a court probate order, which was then used to withdraw the funds. The victim alleged that UBA had moved him from one branch to another without resolving the matter or reimbursing the stolen money.

“The man they declared dead in the bank and wiped out over one hundred and fifty million naira from his account,” Gwamnishu wrote in the video caption. “UBA bank reached out and they assured they are on his matter. It will interest you to know that before the money was awarded to unknown recipients, they obtained a Death certificate of a living being and went to probate at the high court to obtain a court order.”

He continued, “Currently, the name the bank officials mentioned to us were the recipient, the victim, doesn’t know them. Please tag @centralbankng and @ubagroup. The bank will be held liable. They know what happened.”

Gwamnishu also called on the public to demand accountability by tagging both the Central Bank of Nigeria and UBA on social media.