Keeping money that lands in your bank account by mistake is a financial offence that can attract five to ten years in jail, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) warned on Thursday, October 22, 2026. The warning came at a CBN Listens stakeholders’ meeting at the Jogor Event Centre in Ibadan, where Governor Olayemi Cardoso was represented by the bank’s spokesperson, Hakama Sidi Ali. Reports of the remarks didn’t name the specific law behind the penalty, and no written CBN statement on it had appeared on the bank’s website by Saturday.
With most everyday payments in Nigeria now made by bank transfer, a single wrong digit in an account number is all it takes to send money to a stranger, and the CBN’s message cuts both ways. If you’re on the receiving end, the money was never yours to spend. If you’re the sender, the warning backs your right to get it back, and the same meeting set out how far your bank has to go before you can take the matter to the regulator.
| Date | 22 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Where | CBN Listens stakeholders' meeting, Ibadan, Oyo State |
| Offence | Wrongfully keeping money credited to your account by mistake |
| Penalty cited | Five to ten years' imprisonment |
| Law cited | Not confirmed |
| Bank must acknowledge a complaint within | 3 days, or give you a tracking number |
Spending a wrong transfer turns a bank error into your problem
The CBN framed the issue as one of honesty in the payment system rather than a banking glitch, and its warning sat alongside a second caution about fraud. The apex bank told the audience that obtaining another person’s banking details through fraud also carries severe penalties, and urged customers not to share their personal or account information with anyone who asks for it.
If an unexpected credit shows up in your account, leave it untouched and call your bank. Ask the bank to handle the reversal rather than transferring the money back yourself to whoever calls or texts claiming it, because you have no way of confirming that person is the real sender. Keep the alert and note the time it arrived, so the bank can trace the transaction quickly. Unexpected credits followed by urgent calls are also a pattern fraudsters lean on, and we’ve covered how scam networks operate in our report on the 3.7 million scam accounts Meta removed this month.
Sent money to the wrong account? Your bank has to move first
Report the mistake to your own bank as soon as you notice it, with the amount, the date and time, the recipient’s account number and the session or transaction ID from your receipt. The CBN’s own guide to lodging a complaint says you must first report to the bank or branch where the issue started and give it time to resolve the case, which it puts at about two weeks depending on the complaint.
At the Ibadan meeting, the CBN said you can escalate to its consumer protection department if your bank doesn’t acknowledge your complaint within three days, doesn’t give you a tracking number, or doesn’t resolve it within the timelines in the Consumer Protection Regulations. That tracking number is the piece of evidence the regulator will want, so insist on it at the first contact and keep a copy of every email or chat with the bank.
Fintech apps are part of the same chain
Much of the money moving between Nigerians now passes through wallet apps such as OPay, Moniepoint, PalmPay and Kuda, which the CBN licenses and supervises, so a wrong transfer from one of them starts with the app’s own support channel in the same way. Keep in mind that some payment networks are changing fast, as the Baxi agent network shutdown showed, and a complaint is easier to settle while the provider is still operating normally.
Double-check the account name your app displays before you tap send, since that name check is the one moment you can stop a wrong transfer before it happens. If a mistaken credit does reach you, a quick call to your bank protects you far better than waiting to see whether anyone notices, now that the CBN has said publicly that holding on to it can end in a prison sentence.
