Court joins Moniepoint in N21bn PoS double payment fraud case

The Federal High Court in Abuja has joined Nigerian fintech company Moniepoint as a party in the ongoing N21.4 billion alleged fraudulent “illegal double payments” recovery case involving the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and some Point of Sale (POS) merchants.

The case, according to court filings, stems from a technical glitch on Providus Bank’s POS terminals, which allegedly resulted in duplicate settlements amounting to N21,489,479,236.09.

About ten POS merchants, including Ishola Maruf Ademola of Al-Maruf Communication Concept and Ilesanmi Saheed Adeniyi of Seadurf Telecommunications, were alleged to have exploited the glitch and benefited from the illegal double payments.

Delivering a ruling on August 12, 2025, Justice Emeka Nwite granted Moniepoint’s request to be joined as a co-respondent in the case.

The fintech, represented in court by counsel N.M. Uthman, argued that the court could not fairly determine the matter without its participation, given that it was Moniepoint that petitioned law enforcement authorities and triggered the investigation into the disputed transactions.

Justice Nwite agreed with the submission and directed that Moniepoint be added as a party in the suit. He also ordered Ademola and Adeniyi’s counsel to amend all originating court processes to reflect the fintech’s joinder.

Notably, the EFCC counsel, S.O. Obila, and the merchants’ legal representative, Okechukwu Edeze SAN, did not oppose Moniepoint’s application.

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Court documents reveal that on 14 February 2025, Moniepoint petitioned the Inspector General of Police to investigate suspicious duplicate settlements on Providus Bank POS terminals.

Following investigations, the police uncovered alleged cases of fraud and money laundering linked to the transactions, leading to the arrest of Ademola and Adeniyi.

Moniepoint claims the merchants voluntarily admitted to receiving billions of naira in duplicate payments, some of which were allegedly used to acquire properties described as “proceeds of fraud.”

Although the matter initially began with the police, Moniepoint later escalated its petition to the EFCC, accusing the merchants of benefiting from the glitch and seeking recovery of the N21 billion.

The EFCC invited the accused merchants to appear before its investigators on 4 July 2025. However, their legal team declined, citing three separate pending suits already filed against the commission in relation to the same issue.

Despite rescheduled invitations, the merchants failed to appear until they were later apprehended by EFCC operatives.

The ruling to join Moniepoint as a party underscores the judiciary’s stance that necessary stakeholders in high-stakes financial disputes must be included for justice to be properly served.

For Nigeria’s financial and fintech ecosystem, the case highlights the risks posed by system glitches and the potential for abuse by operators and merchants.

Analysts believe the outcome of this case could set new precedents for liability, compliance, and dispute resolution in the digital payments sector.