In recent times, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) has been making headlines over several cases assault on its customers by its staff. This troubling trend needs to stop. Customers are meant to be treated well no matter the issue because they entrusted the institution with their hard-earned funds.
There is a need for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to look into this and caution the management of this institution against this toxic behaviour.
Here are three examples of poor conflict resolution leading to workplace assault in GTBank, both in Nigeria and their offshore subsidiaries.
ASABA ASSAULT
At the Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) Asaba state branch, a female customer was violently thrown out of the bank premises by the bank officials recently.
An eyewitness who uploaded the video to Facebook stated that the bank’s branch manager was behind the female customer’s ordeal in the hands of the brutish GTBank security guard.
The eyewitness, Charles Ijomah is seen along with other customers in the video pleading with the bank official to take it easy on the lady and stop manhandling her “like a thief”. Their pleas, however, fell on deaf ears, as another bank official is heard in the video screaming “throw her out”.
The unidentified lady who is a customer of the bank is seen in the video pleading with the security officials to allow her to retrieve her funds from the bank. A request that falls on deaf ears as she is even more violently manhandled by the bank employees as she tries to head towards the bank.
The bank branch manager reportedly witnessed the whole incident and endorsed it.
LIBERIA ASSAULT
About 13 months ago we reported how the MD of GTBank Liberia, Ayodeji Bejide assaulted a staff of GTBank until he was bleeding.
Bejide reportedly threw a calculator at a fellow staff, Edward Freeman, gruesomely injuring the young man.
After allegedly meting out the injuries on the employee, Bejide was heard in the video telling him to calm down, threatening to dismiss him if he made any further comment. Mr Freeman then walked out of Bejide’s office at the end of the video.
ASSAULT ON INNOSON’S WIFE
Also, the bank was named in reports late 2017, when officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission were said to have assaulted the wife of Innoson boss, Innocent Chukwuma, during a planned arrest of her husband, brought about by a GTBank petition.
As a fall out of that incident, Former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu condemned the unholy alliance between the EFCC and GTB.
Ekweremadu said, “I would like to seek your indulgence to raise the matter of Mr Innocent Chukwuma who we call ‘Innoson,’ by the EFCC over a matter between Mr Chukwuma and Guarantee Trust Bank.
“At the inception of this Senate, we all took an oath to defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. God forbid that a day will come when we will sit back as a Senate and watch an attack on the liberty of any citizen.”
Narrating the details of his conversation with the Innoson boss, Ekweremadu said, “Yesterday, I got a number of messages indicating that Mr Innocent Chukwuma was arrested by the EFCC over a transaction between him and GTBank.
READ ALSO: GTB brutally Assault female customer in Asaba (video)
“This morning, I made an effort and I spoke with him. His story is straight forward: he said he was at his house at 5 am on Tuesday when he heard gunshots and he thought they were assassins and he went into hiding.
“After about two hours, he saw some people and policemen, and he thought that help had come. So, he came out of hiding and ran to a policeman who promptly arrested him.
“He tried to find out what his offence was and they told him that when they get to the police station, they would inform him of the offence. As of today, nobody has told him what the offence is.
“Any person who is arrested and detained should be informed about the reason for their arrest. As I speak, Mr Innoson Chukwuma has yet to be informed of what led to his arrest or detention, but if you go through the media today, the story is that he is owing GTB.
“As a lawyer, I’m at a loss (for words) on how a transaction between someone and his bank will concern the EFCC.”