Kuda blames youth corper for Police harassment in bank’s building

Nigerian Fintech startup, Kuda, has faulted 24-year-old Point of Sales (PoS) operator, Olakunle AbdulGafar, for the harassment he faced in the hands of some officers of the Nigerian Police in their banking hall.

AbdulGafar, who is currently serving in Ogun State as a National Youth Service Corp member, was manhandled by the Police officers on April 19 when he visited the microfinance bank to enquire why his account was locked.

Ripples Nigeria had spoken to his brother, Jamiu, who said AbdulGafar’s account was locked after transferring over N577,000 from his PoS business account on April 13, 2022 – Kuda had demanded he state the source and purpose of the funds.

After trying to resolve the situation via Kuda’s email and Twitter account, with efforts abortive, AbdulGafar proceeded to Kuda’s office in Lagos to lay complaints, but he was harassed by the officers, and detained, with his family denied access to him.

Read also: Fintech startup, Kuda, invites police to arrest PoS operator for making inquiry about blocked account (VIDEO)

In reaction to the criticism that trailed the arrest, the management of Kuda released a statement via its Twitter account, on Wednesday, blaming AbdulGafar for the dehumanisation he experienced in the firm’s building, stating that he wasn’t cooperative.

“It is truly unfortunate that the customer’s failure to cooperate with the law enforcement officers unfolded in the manner that it did, particularly as the customer was being apprehended by the members of the Nigerian Police Force further to their investigation into alleged criminal activity on the customer’s account.” Kuda wrote.

It said the police involvement is related to the firm being licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which mandates Kuda to “comply with the mandates of all applicable government and law enforcement agencies, supported by the appropriate documentation.”

In an email sent to AbdulGafar and seen by Ripples Nigeria, Kuda didn’t state the reason for locking his account, while Jamiu said they also don’t know why he was arrested, but Kuda claimed it liaised with affected customers when there’s pending matters between its account holders and the agencies.

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