Customers allege N2m debit, non-refund over Dangote Refinery IPO transactions at FirstBank

 

By Aderonke Ojediran

 A customer, Aisha Janel, has allegedly been debited N2 million in two transactions for Dangote Petroleum Refinery initial public offering (IPO) shares through FirstBank, without receiving email confirmation of successful subscriptions.

The case is among complaints about unsuccessful transactions and unresolved refunds involving customers who attempted to subscribe for the refinery’s shares through the bank.

Another customer Francisca Aderonke said FirstBank debited her account N267,750 following three unsuccessful attempts to purchase 170 units of the shares on Sept. 17, 2026.

She said N89,250 was deducted for each attempt, adding that nearly one month after the transactions, she had received neither a refund nor an email confirming that the subscriptions had been processed.

The customer said she had received no acknowledgement or further information from the bank regarding the status of the transactions.

The initial public offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals opened on Sept. 14, 2026, offering 4.1 billion ordinary shares at N525 per share.

The offer seeks to raise approximately N2.15 trillion, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares, valued at N5,250, making it accessible to eligible retail and institutional investors. 

According to her, she contacted FirstBank through its Instagram direct messages and X, formerly Twitter, but received no satisfactory resolution.

She said she subsequently visited a FirstBank branch in Iganmu, near the company’s registrar, where she met a bank representative, Mr Ezekiel A, to seek clarification.

The customer said the representative told her that nothing could be done to resolve the matter, leaving her without an explanation of the failed transactions or the status of her funds.

She attributed the transaction failures to a possible system glitch and called on the bank to take responsibility for resolving the complaint.

Janel’s case involved two transactions of N1 million each, bringing the total amount involved to N2 million, according to information provided by the complainant.

The complainant said Janel had not received email confirmation showing that the subscriptions had been successfully processed.

Complainants also showed customers raising concerns about unresolved complaints on FirstBank’s Instagram verified account, @firstbanknigeria.

In one comment, an Instagram user, @nature_naturaa, questioned the bank over an alleged additional debit of N140,000 on a transaction billed in naira.

The customer said the bank attributed the debit to an exchange rate but had not provided the exact rate applied to the transaction.

In another comment, the user appealed to the bank to respond to a direct message and resolve a pending refund request.

Another Instagram user, @successfull4911, complained about delays in activating an account after submitting documents requested by the bank.

Although the complaints concern different banking issues, they reflect concerns raised by some customers about the handling of disputed transactions and the resolution of banking complaints.

The affected customers are seeking explanations for the disputed debits, clarification of their subscription status and information on when their funds will be refunded.

FirstBank’s response is necessary to establish the cause of the reported transaction failures, the status of the disputed funds and the procedures available to affected customers.