Adebayo told Legit.ng that COVID-19 was still effective when he received the money.

“In 2020, when the impact of COVID-19 was still effective, he was given a sum of one hundred and eighty thousand, but later found out that it was a loan," he said.

In the petition, Adebayo reiterated that he was not informed that the money was a loan because he was told that it was a grant from the federal government.

"I would like to state that I was not informed that it was a loan that we were given instead of a grant. I am using this medium to lodge a complaint over the sudden increment of my payable loan at NIRSAL Microfinance Bank from 15 to 25 per cent. A sum of one hundred and eighty thousand was given to me during the COVID-19 pandemic era in 2020.

Now stuck in the loan trap, Adebayo expressed that even though he had paid the principal loan and the 15% interest, he is still not off the hook yet.

Giving the breakdown of how he paid back the loan, the journalist said he would like to close his account with the bank, but the request was declined.

His words:

"I paid a sum of 10,000 on 19th August 2023. 5,000 on 22nd August 2023. 5,000 on 29th August, 2023. 5,000 on 20th September, 2023. 5,000 on 23rd October, 2023. 10,000 on 29th December, 2023. A sum of N101,277 was deducted from my account on 10th May 2024 through GIS, an additional sum of N1,727 was deducted through GIS recovery on 2nd July 2024, while N35,525 was also deducted through GIS recovery on 4th March 2025. On Sunday, 4th May, 2025, I paid a sum of N28,471 from my Jaiz Bank account as the balance I was to pay. I have paid the principal amount (N180,000) and the interest of fifteen per cent (N27,000). I am not owing the bank, and I want the account to be closed.

He continued:

“It was regrettable that the bank is demanding an additional 15 per cent from me, after I had paid the principal loan and the interest.

"Unfortunately, I approached the same branch and I was told there is an additional N18,000 I was to pay. I told the manager to provide the schedule of payment I was issued some time ago, but he refused. As of today, I have paid all the total amount of money I was supposed to pay based on the sheet issued to me when I demanded the total amount of money I was to pay.”

In the petition, Adebayo appealed to CBN, EFCC, and the Public Complaints Commission to prevail on the NIRSAL Microfinance bank to stop any deduction from his account.

He noted that he had explored all means he knew, but the bank had remained unperturbed.

"I have exhausted all the necessary avenues to resolve this matter amicably but the manager and the staff of NIRSAL Microfinance Bank at Dugbe Ibadan are still insisting that they will still deduct money from my account after I have paid the principal loan and the 15 per cent interest and I do not have any other options than to write this petition to the three agencies and make it available to the journalists for all members of the public to know what is happening.

"An account with 0250571240 was opened for me by the bank. We thought that it was granted at that time. No message was sent to me until August 2023. In August 2023, I received a message that I was supposed to have paid the loan. I started the repayment in September 2023. I approached the Dugbe Ibadan branch and demanded the total amount I was to pay. I was told by the cashier that I was to pay the sum of N180,000 and an additional 15 per cent as interest, which, if added together, is N207,000.

"My request: I have paid all the total amount of money I am supposed to pay, including the 15 per cent interest, and on this premise, I seek your intervention to prevail on the bank not to deduct any money from my account henceforth. I want to close the account totally, and I do not want to have anything to do with the Bank anymore. I am using this medium to appeal to you to use your good office to ensure that all these requests are granted," Adebayo stated in the petition.

Legit.ng gathered that many people have similar experiences just like Adebayo, but they do not talk or their voices are not heard.

“Somebody or some people must take action against perceived impunity and cheating in the system," Adebayo told Legit.ng.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported in 2020 that a Non-Governmental Organisation, Connected Development (CODE), on Tuesday, December 8, disclosed that its initiative, Follow The Money, tracked N96.7 billion COVID-19 funds both at the federal and state levels in Nigeria.

CODE’s chief executive officer, Mr Hamzat Lawal, revealed this at a national town hall meeting in Abuja attended by a Legit.ng reporter.

Breaking down the figures, Lawal said Follow The Money tracked N1.4 billion in Edo, N1.4 billion in Ondo, N94 million in Bauchi, N28 million in Borno, N230 million in Kwara, N378 million in Oyo state, N2.3 billion in Kano state, and N330 million in Enugu state. Others are N28 million in Akwa Ibom state and N12.6 billion in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos state.

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Source: Legit.ng