GSI scandal of the Nirsal Microfinance Bank: If the repayment of loans becomes a trap

In a deeply disturbing systemic failure, hundreds of customers across Nigeria cry about the continuing inefficiencies and the insensitivity of the nirsal microfinanzbank. Despite the full repayment of their loans, many of these people are still illegally debited from their other bank accounts by the Global Standing Instruction (GSI), a mechanism that was originally triggered to enforce the repayment of intentional waste fruits, a punishment against innocent borrowers.

What was designed as protection against financial responsibility has mutated into an instrument of oppression. The GSI, which was activated by the Central Bank of Nigeria to improve credit attempts, enables the lenders to trace overdue credit obligations of garbage shoulders by combating their accounts in other banks. But in the hands of the Nirsal Mikrofinanzbank, it has reportedly become a blunt weapon, which the innocently punished indiscriminately together with the guilty.

For over four months and the counting of affected customers who range from small entrepreneurs to low-income earners, dealers, craftsmen and even civil servants, repeatedly written to the nirsal headquarters in Abuja and several state branches in order not to apply for the issue of letters and a reversal of incorrectly remote funds. Most have not received a meaningful answer. The silence and the lack of urgency of nirsal have left many stranded, angry and financial inability to be financially stated.

These are not just numbers in a table – they are real people with real fights. Many of them took over the loans during the Covid 19 pandemic as part of the Federal Government's intervention programs, with which economic shocks padded and promote financial inclusion. It is as absurd as tragic that the same people who paid back loans in good faith, supported by the government, are punished in good faith.

In addition to the financial burden, there is emotional trauma and humiliation to be mistakenly listed as debtor. These unjust entries for your credit stories have limited your access to new financing options, employment and even participation in apartments. What she should empower has instead become a source of further impoverishment. This is not just inefficiency – it is a treason.

Several customers have visited nirsalburos just to meet non -cups, dismissive civil servants who do not offer solutions or empathy. Many are forced to return home without clear timeline, when or when their credit is corrected or their funds are reimbursed. This institutional inertia quickly turns into a scandal that not only questions the integrity of the bank, but also the sincerity of the government in its poverty control.

A fashion contractor based in Lagos, who fully repaid her 500,000 ₦ loan in 2023, still finds that her accounts are garnished every month under GSI. “Every month they take 5,000 or 10,000 euros from my other bank accounts. I have submitted all the evidence of repayments, written letters and visited their office four times. Nothing has changed. I feel helpless,” she said visibly emotionally.

At a time when Nigeria is fighting against economic difficulties, unemployment and uncertainty, incompetence and impunity at the nirsal microfinanzbank threaten to derail the trust of public government initiatives into state-run initiatives. How can Nigerians take into account entrepreneurship and economic strengthening if they are still financially punished even after the repayment of their loans?

It is time for the central bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian deposit insurance company (NDIC) and other supervisory authorities to get in. An immediate examination and examination must be carried out in the GSI operations at nirsal. Those who are guilty of negligent or failed appointments must be held accountable, and urgent reforms that are restored to restore public trust.

This is a test of institutional credibility. If this crisis is not treated quickly, it will not only damage the already fragile image of state institutions such as nirsal, but will also undermine future interventions to highlight the Nigerians from poverty. What incentive remains for responsible loans if compliance with the punishment is punished?

Enough is enough: people deserve justice, empathy and accountability. Everything else is confirmation of injustice that is wrapped in bureaucratic silence.

Dr. Laja Adesina is an expert from Agribusiness who currently heads a team of experts who offer agricultural solutions throughout Nigeria. As a former advisor to the poultry value chain of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, he played a key role in developing national standards for poultry operations. He recently was the main researcher for the Galvmed project to vaccinate Newcastle Disease and deworming in southwestern Nigeria.