Crisis Rocks SunTrust Bank As Director Resigns, Four Management Staff Tender Resignation Letters Over Ethical Concerns

Mrs Habibat Buba-led SunTrust Bank appears to be sliding into a deepening crisis, if feelers from the bank’s headquarters are anything to go by.

Impeccable sources disclosed over the weekend that alleged sharp practices and insider abuses have triggered serious disagreements among members of the Board of Directors and management staff, culminating in the resignation of Mr Arho Akpe a long time director of the bank last week.

Bank officials also disclosed that six management staff members had tendered their letters of resignation over what they described as ethical concerns. However, it was learnt that the Chairman of the Board, Mr Olanrewaju Shittu and the all powerful director- Mr Mohammed Barde, had begun mounting pressure on the affected staff to reconsider their decisions. As of press time, the Board was yet to formally accept their resignation letters.

At the heart of the unfolding crisis, according to insiders, are allegations of excesses and financial recklessness on the part of Mohammed Barde, who is said to own, either directly or through proxy shareholders, approximately 70 per cent of the bank’s equity.

Sources disclosed that the bank’s recapitalisation, reportedly concluded in August as it marked its tenth anniversary, was allegedly achieved through questionable financial manoeuvres. These reportedly included the mobilisation and deployment of depositors’ funds, alongside other forms of what insiders described as unethical financial engineering. Such practices, if established, could expose the bank to regulatory sanctions, particularly if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were to determine that the funds used did not meet the applicable recapitalisation requirements.

The alleged financial manoeuvres, which reportedly enabled the bank to meet its capitalisation threshold on paper, coupled with what insiders described as Mr Mohammed Barde’s excesses, are said to have had adverse consequences on the bank’s liquidity position, plunging it into serious cash-flow difficulties.

Insiders indicated last week that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may have commenced investigations into what has been described as a financial heist within the bank. This is reportedly following petitions submitted by some stakeholders over alleged fraudulent manipulation in the mobilisation of funds used to meet the bank’s recapitalisation requirements earlier this year. There are indication that the Central Bank examiners are currently in the bank conducting spot checks on the books of the bank but the Mohammed Barde was said to have boasted that he has the right connections at the apex bank to ensure that the report will be positive to keep him in control and on the Board of the bank.

The Chairman, who is said to be making desperate efforts to contain the bank’s precarious financial situation, is also said to be at loggerhead with Mr Mohammed Barde who is said to be reportedly embroiled in a dispute with a customer of the bank over a prime property in Lagos which he is alleged to be seeking to take over under the guise of debt recovery.

An insider, who spoke on the unfolding situation, said: “Our director must be the only bank director in Nigeria who has succeeded in manipulating the system to retain an almost total stranglehold on a bank through direct and proxy shareholdings to the level of this magnitude . He has become totally power-drunk and has turned into a menace to other directors, management staff and high-net-worth customers.”

Sources further alleged that the director’s confidence and perceived sense of invulnerability had been reinforced by what they described as his influential connections within the CBN. A Deputy Governor of the apex bank was specifically mentioned as allegedly enjoying a close relationship with him and being instrumental in shielding him from possible regulatory scrutiny, reprimand or sanctions. However, these claims could not be independently established.

In August last year, SunTrust Bank’s name featured prominently in the controversy surrounding an alleged $13 million cash-for-transfer arrangement involving businesswoman Aisha Achimugu in March 2025.

The bank was reportedly identified as the financial conduit through which the funds were channelled before being credited in instalments into an Oceangate account domiciled with Zenith Bank. Subsequently, a Federal High Court ordered the final forfeiture of approximately $13 million linked to Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd.