According to the dormant account database published by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System, the number of inactive accounts in Nigeria’s banking sector has increased to over 19.69 million, following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) introduction of new policy measures.
Data tracking monthly account activity throughout 2024 revealed a consistent rise in dormant accounts across Nigerian banks. The figures showed that inactive accounts remained above 19 million each month starting from February 2024, with December recording a total of 19,697,125 dormant accounts. This reflects an increase of 1,205,000 accounts compared to January’s figure of 18,492,169, marking a 6.51 percent annual rise.
The highest number of dormant accounts was observed in May and June, peaking at 20.57 million, before experiencing a slight decline in the latter half of the year.
Additionally, the data highlighted a rise of 2.08 million dormant accounts in the first six months of 2024, prior to the CBN’s directive in July of the previous year regarding such accounts.
This development follows the CBN’s recent circular, issued on Tuesday, instructing all banks to disclose details of dormant accounts, unclaimed balances, and other financial assets.
