You check your bank account and discover that ₦500,000 has been transferred without your authorisation. You immediately contact your bank, report the transaction and ask for your money to be returned. Then the bank tells you: “The transaction was successful.” Or: “You authorised the transaction.” Or simply: “Our investigation shows that the transaction was valid.” What should you do next? A bank’s refusal to reverse an unauthorised transaction does not necessarily mean that you have no further remedy. Nigerian bank customers have access to internal complaint mechanisms, regulatory escalation and, where appropriate, legal remedies. The important thing is to act systematically and preserve your evidence. First, Understand Why the Bank Refused the Reversal Before deciding what to do next, obtain the bank’s position in writing. The bank may argue that: The transaction was properly authenticated. Your PIN, password, OTP or other credentials were used. You disclosed your banking credentials. The transaction originated from your registered device. The transaction was authorised by you. The bank’s investigation did not establish a system failure. The recipient has already withdrawn or transferred the funds. Do not rely solely on a verbal explanation from a customer-service representative. Ask the bank to provide its response formally and retain it. Does the Bank Have a Right to Reject Your Complaint? A bank is entitled to investigate a disputed transaction and determine whether it is liable. However, a customer also has a right to have a complaint properly considered. The Central Bank of Nigeria states that bank customers have a right to a complaints-management system through which they can seek redress. Customers also have a right to be kept informed about the resolution process and the basis of the bank’s decision. Where a customer is dissatisfied, the CBN states that the customer has a right of review by the bank, the CBN or the courts. Therefore, a bank’s rejection of your complaint is not necessarily the end of the matter. What Should You Do After the Bank Rejects Your Complaint? If the bank has refused to reverse the transaction, take the following steps. 1. Request the Bank’s Final Position in Writing Ask the bank to provide a written explanation of why it rejected your complaint. Your request should identify: The disputed transaction. The date and amount. The transaction reference. Your complaint reference number. The reason given for rejecting your complaint. The action you want the bank to take. Keep a copy of the correspondence. 2. Ask for the Complaint Tracking Number Make sure you have the bank’s complaint or tracking reference. The CBN’s current complaints process requires customers to first lodge their complaint with the financial institution and obtain a complaint reference/tracking number. This number becomes important if you later escalate the complaint. 3. Preserve All Evidence Keep all documents and communications relating to the transaction. These can include: Bank statements. Transaction alerts. SMS messages. Emails. Screenshots. Transaction references. The recipient’s account details. Your complaint to the bank. The bank’s response. Communications with the suspected fraudster. Police or other law-enforcement reports. Do not delete or alter potentially relevant electronic evidence. Can You Escalate the Complaint to the CBN? Yes. If the bank fails to resolve the complaint within the applicable period, you can escalate the matter to the Consumer Protection Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The CBN’s official guidance states that customers should first complain to their financial institution. Where the complaint remains unresolved within the applicable timeline, the customer can escalate it to the CBN. The CBN’s current complaints portal also requires the customer to first lodge the complaint with the financial institution and obtain a tracking number before using the escalation process. How Long Should You Wait Before Escalating to the CBN? This is an area where you should be careful about relying on outdated information. Older CBN guidance refers to a two-week period for unresolved complaints, while more recent CBN materials refer to the timelines stipulated under the applicable Consumer Protection Regulations. The safest approach is to lodge the complaint formally with the bank, obtain the tracking number and follow the current CBN escalation process applicable to your complaint. Do not simply send a complaint to the CBN without first complaining to your bank. What Should You Include in a CBN Complaint? Your complaint should clearly explain: Your name and contact details. The name of the bank. The disputed transaction. The date and amount involved. Your account details, without disclosing your PIN or password. What happened. When you discovered the transaction. The complaint you made to the bank. The bank’s response. The resolution you are requesting. Supporting documents. The CBN specifically advises complainants not to include sensitive credentials such as PINs and passwords in their complaint. Can the CBN Order the Bank to Refund Your Money? The CBN has a consumer-protection and complaints-resolution role in relation to financial institutions under its regulatory purview. Its Consumer Protection Framework requires financial institutions to have customer compensation policies addressing categories including unauthorised or erroneous debits and financial loss resulting from staff negligence or fraudulent activities. However, a CBN complaint should not be treated as an automatic guarantee that the customer will receive a refund. The regulator will consider the complaint, the bank’s response and the available evidence. Where the dispute involves issues that require judicial determination, court proceedings may become necessary. What If the Bank Says You Authorised the Transaction? This is one of the most important situations to address. The bank may argue that the transaction was authorised because: An OTP was entered. The customer’s PIN was used. The transaction came from the customer’s device. The customer’s password was used. The transaction passed the bank’s authentication process. But the existence of authentication does not necessarily answer every question concerning liability. The circumstances in which the credentials were obtained and used, the security systems involved, the customer’s conduct and the bank’s own obligations can all be relevant. For example, a customer may have been deceived through phishing, social engineering or another form of fraud. The