In May 2009, Mrs. Ekwunife L. Akabogu signed as a contract employee at the Enugu branch of Skye Bank Plc (the bank), based in Lagos, Nigeria. For the salary of N45, 000, Akabogu joined the Bank under the title of Priority Sales Support Officer and was posted to the Enugu branch for a period of six months, at which point her employment would be up for review.
This new position signified the realization of a longtime desire for Akabogu—to work in a corporate atmosphere. She applied for the position following ample suggestion from various parties that she possessed the skills and attributes suitable for the banking industry. It did not take Akabogu long however to realize the ulterior motives behind the flattery.
Once Akabogu had agreed to the contract, the Branch Manager asked if she was familiar with Chief Christian Uba of the PDP, a client whom the Bank had been unsuccessfully wooing for some time. Upon admitting her acquaintance with Chief Uba, the Manager suggested that in order to prove her dedication to her new employer, Akabogu pursue Chief Uba on the Bank’s behalf. The Manager made clear that he did not wish to know the details of what would transpire however, yet assured Akabogu that Uba would be interested in a quid pro quo agreement and that the end would certainly justify the means.
She told her husband, who suggested that she ignore the request. Once the Bank recognized that she was unwilling to partake in the scheme, they corralled her involvement in the Bank’s activity to only fixed deposits and certain priority accounts, which she sees as bogus free Priority Passes for lounge access that the Bank uses to pilfer money from clients through hidden charges (interest, ATM and guest fees, lounge beverages), which the Bank officers are prohibited from warning the patrons about. More common practice (as is practiced at Barclay’s) is to have an upfront fee for the Priority Pass and then offer services and amenities within the Pass free of charge.
Not only was Akabogu demoted in this manner, even the accounts that she had opened were passed on to other Bank officers, depriving her from taking credit for the sixteen accounts that she opened totaling a value of almost six million naira. She was also denied a proper workspace and computer as well as a vehicle (providing a company vehicle for marketing purposes is general practice). Her argument is that the reason behind her status as a contract employee rather than staff employee is that they are not listed as account managers, and given the high turnover rate for employees at her level, they would likely no longer be working at the Bank once the fees were noticed by the customers. Under this scheme, the Bank escapes culpability. She was being used as bait to entice new clientele.
During Akabogu’s second month of employment, the Bank Manager reprimanded her for whiling away the hours collecting her salary, and not pulling in big clients such as contractors and politicians in return. He warned her that the central office in Lagos had communicated their disappointment with her performance, questioning why she had not "mopped the entire monies on the streets of Enugu." He demanded that she toughen up and gave her the new task of marketing at the new local hotels where movers and shakers spend time. He advised that she wear pricey perfume and short skirts in order to flaunt her legs, and also suggested that she not hesitate to take perspective depositors to the Zodiac Hotel if the occasion called for it. Her job description began to transform based on verbal alterations, not through written declarations of her “job description and performance target” as had been agreed upon. She never even received a proper ID card and was consistently the object of ridicule at weekly managerial meetings for what they saw as the misuse of her god-given assets and her loyalty to her husband over her bank. The stress began to take a toll on her, and she frequently needed medical attention and was admitted to the hospital on two occasions after collapsing, although the Bank doubted the veracity of her ailment. Upon her return to work, a co-worker named Maureen Okoye stridently accused her in front of fellow staff and bank patrons of stealing her phone, an allegation that Akabogu denies and deems to be proof of the co-worker’s collaboration with the Bank Managers. Okoye also accused Akabogu of stealing her certificate, only to find she had left it in the copy machine. When Akabogu complained to the manager Chinedu Oguejiofor, he simply proposed that she not tell her husband and refused to grant a review of the security camera footage. It was not until after ample prodding from her husband that they permitted the evaluation of the footage a week later. Simultaneously, she was issued a query to explain what had transpired. Although she thought it was common knowledge who her accuser was, it became apparent from the footage that the phone had actually fallen out of the accuser Maureen Okoye’s own bag. In the wake of this event, Akabogu was transferred to another branch while Okoye remains at her post.
When Akabogu reported to the new post, the branch manager greeted her and lamented over being sent a non-performing employee. He assigned her a monthly quota of 30 million nira, to be accrued through any type of account. When Akabogu stated that the central branch in Lagos had warned her not to open other types of accounts, the manager insulted her and told her to do as she was told.
Soon thereafter, Lagos sent an employee named Edna Samuels to Enugu to inquire as to why Akabogu was not opening ten priority accounts per week as had been agreed. She was called into the manager’s office and told to sit in his chair for a one on one chat. She asked to pull up another chair; they refused her request, and as she sat down in his chair the manager entered and threw a fit upon seeing her in his place. Akabogu insists this was a set up, another example of her colleagues trying to make a fool out of her. The manager continued to castigate her, declaring that not even in ten years would she be in the place to have that seat and that she should "fly away from [his] office."
After Samuels left, the manager Donatus Ugwoke summoned a staff meeting, at which he persisted to deride Akabogu, expressing his hope that Lagos would not send him any more non-performers, but instead hire the much sharper women who were applying for jobs in increasing numbers. He demanded an Amen from the employees, and they dutifully responded with applause and an Amen. Ugwoke then gave her the ultimatum to open ten accounts that week, or she would be terminated. Ekwunife Akabogu refused the offer and resigned.
She has since petitioned the Human Rights Commission and the EFCC, and has filed a lawsuit against the Skye Bank in order to call attention to the plight of female staff “who are forced to sell their soul to the devil by prostituting on behalf of the banks.”
-This report is regarding Suit No. E/386/09 in the High Court of Enugu State of Nigeria between (Plaintiff) Mrs. Ekwunife L. Akabogu vs, (Defendents) Skye Bank Plc, Nkolika Okoli, Chinedu Oguejiofor, Donatus Ugwuoke, Dr. Charles Udeogo, Maureen Okoye where Mrs. Ababogu seeks N1 billion in damages from Skye bank.
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