Ibadan – The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) on Monday said it had refunded N14.6 billion to customers of various banks across the country who lodged genuine complaints on their banking transactions.

The Director, Consumer Protection Department of the bank, Alhaja Umma Dutse, disclosed this during a news conference on Monday in Ibadan.

She spoke at the commencement of consumer awareness campaign.

Dutse, who was represented by a Deputy Director in the department, Alhaja Khadijat Kasim, said that the complaints were complaints were received between 2010 and May, 2014.

She said that more than 3,000 complaints from banks and their customers were received during the period, adding that the CBN also intervened in frictions between banks during the period.

She explained that the aim of the week-long awareness campaign was to ensure that banks customers were kept abreast of current development in the banking and were better served by their banks.

“We all would recall the events that occurred a few years ago in the finance industry; the Nigerian financial system was virtually on the brink of collapse.

“There was crisis in the financial and capital markets which had been triggered by the global financial crisis.”

Dutse said that following the finance industry crisis, the CBN introduced reforms to sanitise and stabilise the system, adding that consumer protection was included as a cardinal component of the reform programme.

According to her, the reform leads to the creation of a consumer protection office in 2010 and its subsequent upgrade to a full-fledged department in 2012.

She said the customer sensitisation would include stakeholders’ forum, road show and discussions on radio and television in the state.

“As this campaign is being flagged off, it is my wish and belief that, through the collective efforts of all stakeholders, we would be able to raise banking awareness among the people of the great city of Ibadan and environs,” she said.

Dutse said that the exercise would be replicated in every state in the country and Abuja.

– NAN