FCMB Issues Official Statement on Collapse of Customer at Onipan Branch; Debunks COVID-19 Claims

Leading Nigerian financial institution, First City Monument bank (FCMB) has issued an official statement to address the video making rounds about a customer who collapsed at its Onipan branch in Lagos State.

According to the Bank:

“Our attention has been drawn to a video making the rounds which shows a customer collapsing at our branch located at 178, Ikorodu Road, Onipan, Lagos State. We wish to clarify that:

•At around 11am on Monday, May 04, 2020 a middle-aged man visited the branch to carry out a transaction on the ATM. In line with our COVID-19 health and safety measures, his temperature was taken and found to be normal, and a hand sanitizer was available for use beside the machine

•While standing in line, however, the customer began to show signs of fatigue and collapsed. The fully masked and gloved branch support personnel came to his assistance, moving him to the branch security post.

•Upon enquiry, the customer indicated he had not had anything to eat and had been waiting in line for a short while. After resting and eating some snacks, he regained his strength and left the branch on his own.

•At no point did the customer exhibit any symptoms of respiratory distress, difficulty in breathing or high temperature as has been incorrectly reported on social media

We understand the panic a 13-second video such as currently making the rounds can cause without the proper context at such a time as this. The current outbreak of COVID-19 has led to an unprecedented health situation and anxiety all around the world, including in Nigeria, where community transmission continues to rise. Ideally, this current anxiety should not be amplified by unverified, dramatic and purely hypothetical social media stories. We need to channel our energies towards curtailing the spread of the pandemic and ultimately, eradicating it entirely.

FCMB is at the forefront of the drive to achieve these two objectives. We have deployed robust health and safety measures at all our open branches including making use of face masks by customers and staff mandatory; checking of temperature before admittance into our premises; provision of hand sanitizers which must be used before entry into the banking halls and ATM areas; hourly disinfecting of teller counters and customer service tables; and ensuring social distance is maintained at all times.

We assure the public that we will remain unwavering in our commitment to doing all we can to safeguard our customers, employees and communities.”