An Evaluation of Banks’ Liability in Robbery Incidents at Banks’ Premises in Nigeria

Abstract

The spate of armed robbery attack on banks in the last decade has been alarming. It is hoped with the current Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cashless policy there will be a drastic drop in such incidents. However, the issue of armed robbery attack at the bank premises brings to the fore two issues which are of paramount interest to the banker, customer and the general public. The issues are: (a) is the family of a bank customer killed by armed robbers in the banking hall during a transaction entitled to compensation? (b) Is a customer who is attacked by armed robbers in the banking hall and whose cash is snatched in the process of being lodged in; entitled to compensation from the bank? Therefore, the paper is aimed at examining banks’ liability in robbery incidents. The study adopts a theoretical approach and use of secondary data. The findings show that it is not in all cases that the customer will be compensated. It depends on the merit of the case and the stage the title in cash passes to the bank. Based on the findings it is recommended that banks’ should train their staff to be security conscious and how to behave in case of robbery attacks so as not to endanger their lives; and that of the customers.

Key words: Liability, robbery, customer, security, cash and premises.