Kano Pension Board begins legal action to recover N5.3m mistaken payment

The Kano State Pension Board has commenced legal action to recover N5,346,587.16 mistakenly paid into the wrong bank account during a bulk pension payment through Jaiz Bank.

In a statement on Saturday, the board’s Director of Finance, Sunusi Aminu Rano, said the error occurred during data collection when the last two digits of the intended beneficiary’s account number were entered as “38” instead of “83.”

He said the typing error resulted in the pension funds being transferred to the wrong account.

According to Rano, the board immediately contacted Jaiz Bank after discovering the mistake and officially reported the erroneous transfer.

He explained that the bank informed the board that a court order was required before the money could be reversed, in line with banking procedures and regulations.

The board has already begun the legal process to obtain the court order, which is expected to be ready on Monday. Once secured, it will be presented to Jaiz Bank to enable the funds to be returned.

The Pension Board apologised for the incident and assured pensioners and the public that it would handle the matter transparently and within the law.

“We sincerely regret this unfortunate error and reaffirm our commitment to resolving the matter promptly, transparently, and in accordance with all legal and regulatory requirements,” the statement said.