NDIC laws now stronger to prosecute parties at fault in bank failure—MD

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), says its laws are now stronger and more effective to carry out its bank liquidation mandate. This is contained in a statement issued by Hawwau Gambo, NDIC’s Head, Communication and Public Affairs Department, in Abuja on Sunday. Gambia quoted Mr Thompson Sunday, the Corporation’s Managing Director as saying that NDIC’s powers in liquidation of failed insured institutions had been enhanced with the enactment of the NDIC Act No. 30 of 2023.

Sunday said that the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, also empowered the Corporation.
He said the NDIC was now better positioned to prosecute parties at fault in bank failures, unlike in the past when insufficient legal provisions allowed such individuals to evade accountability. Sunday commended the National Assembly for addressing the long-standing challenge of a weak legal framework which had constrained the Corporation’s operations.

He also commended the judiciary for its growing expertise in deposit insurance law and practice, as demonstrated by the effective adjudication of failed bank cases through judgments that had brought relief to depositors. “With stronger legal backing, individuals now approach the Corporation to settle out of court, not necessarily because the law has caught up with them, but because they can see that the noose is tightening around those responsible for bank failures.

The Corporation’s ability to realise sufficient assets to declare a first round of liquidation dividends to the uninsured depositors of defunct Heritage Bank Limited within one year of the revocation of its licence is due to the positive impact of the new legal framework,” Sunday said. He reiterated that the NDIC would continue to leverage the strengthened laws while collaborating with stakeholders to enhance the effective discharge of its mandate.