…He didn’t believe I was ready to send his refund until he got the first tranche.
…I ended up sending N499,000 to him due to bank charges. He was even the one who suggested that.
Ahmed Adebowale, an undergraduate of the University of Ilorin, has returned N500,000 mistakenly sent to him by an unknown person.
Adebowale told FIJ he got the money in his Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) account on December 24 from one Oladejo David Damila.
He said although he was bothered about the source of the money, he couldn’t visit the bank to complain because it was during a public holiday.
“I woke up that morning to see a credit alert of N500,000. I was shocked because I was not expecting such an amount from anyone at that point in time,” he told Foundation of Investigative Journalism (FIJ).
“I was also bothered as I couldn’t formally complain at the bank due to the public holiday. However, I kept my cool and was expectant.”
Adebowale said the following day, he received a call from whom he assumed to be the sender and then made him verify his identity before agreeing on a refund plan.
“I got a strange call from someone who claimed to have sent the money mistakenly. I asked him for proof that he sent the money to me,” the student said.
“He proved it, and we agreed that I would send him N100,000 each day until December 31 because I had issues with my bank app at the time.
“He didn’t believe I was ready to send his refund until he got the first tranche.
“I ended up sending N499,000 to him due to bank charges. He was even the one who suggested that.
“The man was excited beyond words and could not stop praying for me.”
When FIJ asked why he chose to return the money, the undergraduate said that his morals wouldn’t allow him hurt someone else even though he needed money at the time too.
“Honestly, it was largely a result of my upbringing and moral understanding. I don’t take what does not belong to me, and integrity is of utmost priority to me,” he told FIJ.
“Another thing is that I have a name to protect and I can’t afford to make my parent sad or ever regret their investments in me as a result of my refusal to return it.
“I returned it not because of anything as I was broke too at the time. I had to because the money was not meant for me, and that was the right thing to do.”