Frustration turned into open despair yesterday at Access Bank’s Oba Akran and Awolowo Road branches in Ikeja as a crippling nationwide network breakdown left customers unable to access their funds, even as deposits continued to be accepted.
The incident, which bank staff later confirmed affected branches across the country, disrupted everything from routine withdrawals to internal transfers. Customers who initiated transfers from corporate accounts to their savings accounts watched in disbelief as the transactions failed to reflect, despite the bank’s system debiting the originating accounts.
“I wanted a transfer from my corporate account to my personal savings account at 9 a.m. for an urgent school payment,” said, a logistics entrepreneur. I can’t pay the school, I can’t withdraw, and the bank is telling me to be patient.”
Inside the Oba Akran branch, the situation grew tense as customers queued at counters only to be told that withdrawals — whether over-the-counter or via ATM — could not be processed. Ironically, the deposit counters remained functional, allowing customers to pay money into accounts but not take any out. “How can the bank be collecting money when they can’t give customers their own funds?” one agitated man demanded, shaking his head.
The bank’s staff were not spared from the disruption. Several confided that they, too, could not move funds or access their customers accounts for transactions. One visibly frustrated teller at the Awolowo Road branch admitted, “Even our head office is in the same situation. It’s a nationwide technical fault, and we’re all helpless. We can’t even help ourselves, let alone our customers.”
Some customers, unable to complete urgent payments or meet obligations, left the premises in anger. Others lingered, hoping that the system might suddenly come back online. The sight of elderly customers waiting in the banking hall for hours without success added a human dimension to the crisis.
Financial technology experts say such disruptions expose the vulnerability of centralized banking systems. “When a single failure point can shut down a bank’s nationwide operations, the risk to customers is massive,” explained fintech consultant Mrs. Kemi O Ajibade. “In a cashless economy, network resilience is not optional, it’s the backbone of trust in the banking system.”
Access Bank’s public communication on the issue was minimal at branch level, though managers assured customers that their funds were safe and that IT teams were working round-the-clock to restore services. By evening, no official statement had been posted on the bank’s social media platforms, further fueling frustration among those affected.
For many, the outage was more than a technical hiccup, it was a blow to confidence. As one customer leaving the Oba Akran branch remarked bitterly, “They can collect our money in seconds, but when it’s time to give it back, they tell us to wait. What kind of banking is that?”
The events of yesterday serve as a stark reminder that in Nigeria’s race toward full digital banking, the true test lies not in how fast banks can process deposits, but in how reliably they can guarantee access to customers’ own money, anytime, anywhere.
Yesterday, frustration and disbelief filled the air as Access Bank customers at the Oba Akran and Awolowo Road branches were left stranded for hours, unable to withdraw, deposit, or even check their balances due to a crippling network outage.
By mid-morning, both banking halls had become a mix of restless queues and murmured complaints. At the Oba Akran branch, elderly customers sat patiently on plastic chairs, while younger ones paced in and out, glancing at their phones in vain attempts to use the bank’s mobile app. Even the usually bustling ATM galleries stood silent, their screens flashing “Service Unavailable.”
For a fabric trader, the outage was more than an inconvenience, it was a business crisis. “I have a delivery waiting in Balogun Market. I needed to make an urgent transfer to my supplier,” she said, her voice heavy with frustration. “Now, my goods are on hold, my customer is angry, and I’m stuck here.”
It wasn’t just customers who were affected. Bank staff themselves admitted they too were caught in the glitch. “I can’t even send money to my child’s school today,” a visibly upset staff member at the Awolowo Road branch confided. “People think we are hiding behind ‘no network’ excuses, but we are just as helpless as our customers.”
Experts say such outages point to deeper issues in the reliability of Nigeria’s banking infrastructure. According to fintech analyst Tunde Adebayo, “While most banks have invested heavily in digital platforms, the dependency on centralized systems means that one major glitch can shut down multiple branches simultaneously. It’s a structural risk that needs urgent attention, especially in a cash-lite economy.”
The incident also spilled over into the surrounding community. POS operators nearby reported a surge of frustrated customers trying “and failing” to withdraw from their terminals. Some businesses had to suspend sales when bank transfers failed to reflect, forcing them to turn away paying customers.
Access Bank officials confirmed that the disruption was due to a technical fault affecting certain operations nationwide, adding that their IT teams were working to restore services. “We deeply regret the inconvenience and appreciate the patience of our customers during this time,” one branch manager told reporters.
By late afternoon, partial service had resumed, but the day left a bitter aftertaste for many. As one customer put it while walking away from the Oba Akran branch, “It’s not just about today’s money, it’s about trust. If the bank’s network can disappear without warning, what’s stopping it from happening again?”
Yesterday’s chaos was a sobering reminder: in Nigeria’s drive toward a cashless future, the technology behind the promise must be as dependable as the trust customers place in their banks.
Frustration turned into open despair yesterday at Access Bank’s Oba Akran and Awolowo Road branches in Ikeja as a crippling nationwide network breakdown left customers unable to access their funds, even as deposits continued to be accepted.
The incident, which bank staff later confirmed affected branches across the country, disrupted everything from routine withdrawals to internal transfers. Customers who initiated transfers from corporate accounts to their savings accounts watched in disbelief as the transactions failed to reflect — despite the bank’s system debiting the originating accounts.
“I made a transfer from my corporate account to my personal savings account at 9 a.m. for an urgent school payment,” said Mr. Samuel Oke, a logistics entrepreneur. “The money left my corporate account immediately, but my savings account is still showing zero. I can’t pay the school, I can’t withdraw, and the bank is telling me to be patient.”
Inside the Oba Akran branch, the situation grew tense as customers queued at counters only to be told that withdrawals — whether over-the-counter or via ATM — could not be processed. Ironically, the deposit counters remained functional, allowing customers to pay money into accounts but not take any out. “How can the bank be collecting money when they can’t give customers their own funds?” one agitated man demanded, shaking his head.
The bank’s staff were not spared from the disruption. Several confided that they, too, could not move funds or access their accounts for personal transactions. One visibly frustrated teller at the Awolowo Road branch admitted, “Even our head office is in the same situation. It’s a nationwide technical fault, and we’re all helpless. We can’t even help ourselves, let alone our customers.”
Some customers, unable to complete urgent payments or meet obligations, left the premises in anger. Others lingered, hoping that the system might suddenly come back online. The sight of elderly customers waiting in the banking hall for hours without success added a human dimension to the crisis.
Financial technology experts say such disruptions expose the vulnerability of centralized banking systems. “When a single failure point can shut down a bank’s nationwide operations, the risk to customers is massive,” explained fintech consultant Mrs. Kemi Ajibade. “In a cashless economy, network resilience is not optional — it’s the backbone of trust in the banking system.”
Access Bank’s public communication on the issue was minimal at branch level, though managers assured customers that their funds were safe and that IT teams were working round-the-clock to restore services. By evening, no official statement had been posted on the bank’s social media platforms, further fueling frustration among those affected.
For many, the outage was more than a technical hiccup — it was a blow to confidence. As one customer leaving the Oba Akran branch remarked bitterly, “They can collect our money in seconds, but when it’s time to give it back, they tell us to wait. What kind of banking is that?”
The events of yesterday serve as a stark reminder that in Nigeria’s race toward full digital banking, the true test lies not in how fast banks can process deposits, but in how reliably they can guarantee access to customers’ own money, anytime, anywhere.
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