Firm drags FCMB to court for allegedly disclosing confidential information to third party 

Firm sues FCMB over alleged disclosure of bank statement to third party

First Tirad Global Resources Ltd and its majority shareholder have sued First City Monument Bank (FCMB) over an alleged unauthorised disclosure of the former’s bank statement to a third party.

First Tirad and Funmilola Soyebo, its largest shareholder and sole signatory to the bank account, are the first and second claimants in the suit. The duo are demanding the sum of N5 billion in damages.

Managing Director FCMB, Yemisi Edun

The claimants instituted the suit at the high court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja, accusing the bank of breaching its duty of confidentiality and exposing sensitive financial and personal information.

The suit, marked FCT/HC/NY/255/2026, is contained in a writ of summons, statement of claim, and witness statement on oath filed by the claimants’ counsel, Oluchi Vivian Uche, Okueyelegbe Sylvanus Maliki, and other lawyers.

According to the statement of claim, First Tirad maintained a corporate account with the FCMB, with the second claimant listed as the sole authorised signatory.

The claimants alleged that the bank disclosed the company’s account statement to a third party who had no authority or mandate to obtain the financial records.

They maintained that the disclosure occurred without their knowledge, consent or authorisation, and outside the bank’s approved procedures for protecting customers’ confidential information.

According to the claimants, the incident occurred on April 8, 2026, when the third party allegedly contacted a former FCMB account officer, identified as Taofeeq Are, through WhatsApp to request the company’s account statement covering January 1 to April 8, 2026.

The claimants alleged that Are subsequently contacted a serving FCMB account officer, identified as Olutunde Oyasola, who generated the statement and sent screenshots to him.

They further alleged that the screenshots were subsequently forwarded to the third party through WhatsApp.

The claimants argued that the transaction was unauthorised and amounted to a breach of the bank’s obligation to protect customers’ financial and commercial information.

They also alleged that the statement contained sensitive information, including details of a rent payment, which exposed the second claimant’s residential address and personal information.

The claimants said the disclosure compromised the confidentiality of the company’s financial records and raised concerns about the security of the second claimant’s personal information.

‘DISCLOSURE WHOLLY UNAUTHORISED’

In a letter seen by TheCable dated July 8 and addressed to the managing partner of Moroom Africa, FCMB said it investigated a complaint concerning the disclosure of information relating to an account belonging to First Tirad Global Resources Ltd.

The letter identified Soyebo as the account’s sole authorised signatory.

According to the bank, its investigation established that on April 8, 2026, Hammed Adebayo, a co-director of First Tirad, contacted Taofeeq Are, a former FCMB account officer, through WhatsApp to request the company’s account statement covering January 1 to April 8, 2026.

The bank said Are subsequently contacted Olutunde Oyasola, a serving FCMB account officer, and requested his assistance in processing the request.

“Regrettably, Mr. Olutunde Oyasola generated the account statement and shared screenshots of the same with Mr. Taofeeq Are, who thereafter forwarded it to Mr. Hammed Adebayo through WhatsApp,” the letter reads.

FCMB acknowledged that the disclosure was “wholly unauthorised and inconsistent with its internal policies, data protection obligations, and ethical standards”.

“Under no circumstances should customer account information be disclosed to any person who lacks the requisite mandate or authorization to receive such information, irrespective of any relationship the person may have with the customer or signatory to the account,” the bank said.

The financial institution said it treats breaches of customer confidentiality with the utmost seriousness.

The bank said it had taken “appropriate disciplinary measures” against the employee involved and implemented additional controls to reinforce compliance with its data protection, information security and customer confidentiality requirements.

“These measures are aimed at preventing any recurrence of similar incidents,” the letter said.

“The Bank deeply regrets this unfortunate occurrence and unreservedly apologizes to your client for the distress, concern, and inconvenience it may have caused.”

CLAIMANTS SEEK N5BN DAMAGES

In their court filings, the claimants said the disclosure compromised their confidential financial and commercial information.

They said the account statement was released without their knowledge, consent or authorisation and that the recipient had no mandate to obtain the records through the bank.

The second claimant also said the statement contained details of a rent payment that exposed her residential address and other personal information.

The claimants argued that the disclosure amounted to a breach of confidentiality and raised concerns about the security of their financial and personal information.

They are asking the court to declare that FCMB’s disclosure of the account statement was unlawful and breached its duty of confidentiality to First Tirad Global Resources Ltd.

They are also seeking a declaration that the disclosure violated applicable privacy and data protection obligations.

In addition, the claimants want the court to hold the bank liable for negligence and the acts or omissions of its employees in connection with the incident.

They are demanding N5 billion in general, aggravated and/or exemplary damages for breach of confidentiality, negligence, breach of contractual and statutory obligations, invasion of privacy, and the consequential losses and business exposure they claimed to have suffered.

The claimants are also seeking an order restraining FCMB from further disclosing, disseminating or using the disputed account statement, alongside an order directing the bank to pay the cost of the action.

They said the court should also declare that the subsequent exhibition and reliance on the statement in court proceedings caused additional prejudice and injury to their interests.

The court is yet to determine the claims or make a ruling on the dispute.