The number of dormant bank accounts in Nigeria is over 19.69 million, according to the industry customer account database released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System.
The data, which tracks monthly account statuses throughout 2024, indicates a steady rise in inactive accounts, coinciding with new regulatory measures by the Central Bank of Nigeria requiring commercial banks to publish details of dormant accounts.
The CBN directive, issued to enhance transparency and return unclaimed funds to rightful owners, comes amid concerns that a significant number of accounts have remained idle for extended periods.
According to the NIBSS data, dormant accounts remained above 19 million every month since February 2024, with December closing at 19,697,125 inactive accounts.
This represents an increase of 1,205,000 from January’s figure of 18,492,169, marking a 6.51 per cent rise over the year.
The peak was recorded in May and June when the number reached 20.57 million before dropping slightly in the second half of the year.
The data further shows that there was an increase of 2.08 million dormant accounts between the first six months of 2024 before the CBN’s July directive on such accounts.