Moniepoint Micro Finance Bank has broken its silence regarding recent legal developments involving allegations of coordinated digital attacks. At a well-attended media parley held recently in Lagos, the Public Relations Manager of Moniepoint, Mr. Bemigho Awala, while addressing journalists and stakeholders to clarify the bank’s position stated that his organisation has not arrested or detained anyone based on criticism of its operations.

Rather the financial institution noticed what he described as a “deliberate and coordinated pattern of triggering panic” and has notified relevant authorities. The event served as both a defence of the institution’s recent actions and a broader commentary on the intersection of cybercrime laws and the protection of Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.

Awala began by distinguishing between healthy consumer feedback and malicious intent, emphasising that Moniepoint has historically thrived on criticism, using it as a catalyst for innovation. “As a financial institution who respects the right of every Nigerian to speak, to question the bank, and to hold us as custodians of people’s livelihood, hold us accountable,” Awalla stated.

“In fact, as a very responsible organisation, we listen very closely to criticism… these criticisms help us to improve our products, help us to strengthen our responses and our processes, and ultimately help us better serve our customers.” To illustrate this, he stated that the launch of the bank’s savings product last year, which was developed specifically because customers demanded it.

“That’s the intentionality that we bring to take customer feedback seriously,” he added. However, Awalla noted that recent events deviated from the norm of consumer dissatisfaction just as he also revealed that the bank’s internal monitoring began to pick up signals that were far more predatory than standard complaints.

“What we then began to observe very closely recently was something different from what appeared on the surface. We began to see a clear pattern that raised very serious concerns,” Awalla explained.