Firstsitenews-Lagos, Nigeria – Polaris Bank is under growing scrutiny over its handling of a staff loan inherited from the defunct Skye Bank, which has left a former employee, Mr. Ude, in prolonged financial hardship after acting as a guarantor for a loan granted nearly ten years ago.
An investigation by OnSpotNewsNG revealed that Mr. Ude, who served in the Information Technology department at Skye Bank’s Broad Street branch in 2015, co-signed as a guarantor for a ₦2,205,000 loan issued to his colleague, Mr. Jacobs Adeyinka Alexander, in November of that year.
Shortly after the loan was approved, Mr. Jacobs resigned from the bank. His resignation was reportedly accepted by Skye Bank’s Human Capital Management without alerting the guarantors. Mr. Jacobs defaulted on repayment and sought a loan restructuring, again excluding the guarantors from the process.
Mounting Pressure on Guarantor
It wasn’t until the loan began to default again post-restructuring that Mr. Ude was contacted. He claims the bank pressured him into assuming full responsibility for the outstanding loan, imposing a new 24-month repayment plan with zero interest and authorizing deductions from his staff savings account (1020245278).
Recovery efforts were reportedly led by Polaris Bank officials Mr. Tunji Bajowa and Mr. Fidelis, based at the Churchgate building in Victoria Island. According to Mr. Ude, his inquiries regarding the loan terms and recovery process were misconstrued as threats, further compounding his distress.
Disturbing Debits and Growing Liability
In October 2018, Mr. Ude’s account was debited with a ₦2.5 million negative balance—an amount the bank said stemmed from Mr. Jacobs’ unpaid loan. Even after his employment was terminated in April 2019 for “services no longer required,” Mr. Ude continued making repayments, bringing the balance down to ₦1.2 million.
However, by October 2024, his account reflected a shocking negative balance of ₦8.39 million. This included a monthly capital interest of over ₦248,000—despite a prior agreement stating the restructured loan would be interest-free. Mr. Ude maintains that he was never informed of any interest accumulation and is demanding clarity on why the debt has continued to rise despite his payments.
No Visible Effort to Recover from Original Borrower
Investigations show that Mr. Jacobs has since joined Unity Bank. Yet, Mr. Ude claims Polaris Bank has made no serious efforts to recover the loan from the primary borrower. Instead, he remains the sole target of aggressive recovery actions, now involving debt collection firm Mida Africa Ltd.
Multiple attempts to contact Mr. Jacobs and Polaris Bank representatives have reportedly yielded no results. Mr. Ude says his requests for fairness and transparency have been ignored, leaving him to shoulder a financial burden he believes is unjust and mismanaged.
Plea for Justice
Mr. Ude is now calling for Polaris Bank and Mr. Jacobs to address the matter equitably and transparently.
“This has wrecked my finances and stalled my career,” he said. “All I’m asking for is justice—a chance to move forward without carrying a debt I never personally incurred.”
The case has sparked broader concerns over how liabilities are handled when institutions merge or transition, and the vulnerability of guarantors in workplace loan agreements when due diligence is lacking.
As of the time of filing this report, Polaris Bank has yet to issue an official response to the allegations.
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