Habiba: The woman behind ‘Jaiz Bank’s N100m investment scheme’

Habiba Abdulrahman, a 35-year-old woman from Jos, Plateau State, has been at the center of a scandal involving Jaiz Bank, where she was once a senior staff member. She taught at Esteem Secondary School and worked at the bank as a contract customer service officer before rising to the position of Operations Head (Backup). Her primary duty was to approve withdrawals and transfers initiated by tellers.

In 2026, it was discovered that Habiba had defrauded customers of the N104 million Mudarabah investment scheme. She allegedly obtained money from customers under false pretenses, forging signatures of bank customers and opening fake fixed deposit accounts. After the bank detected irregularities, Habiba was sacked from her position. The customers staged a protest in front of the bank, demanding a refund of their stolen money.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Plateau State police command arrested Habiba in January 2026 on a complaint from the bank's branch manager, Victoria Amidu. The CID found Habiba guilty of conspiracy, cheating, and fraud. She allegedly connived with her husband, Manir Murtala, and her sister, Zainab Abdulrahman, to transfer the stolen money into their accounts.

Habiba hid her fraudulent activities by convincing customers that they were dealing directly with Jaiz Bank, while in reality, she was the one carrying out the transactions. She also used an Opay account belonging to her sister to hide the proceeds. It was discovered that Habiba had forged signatures and created false fixed deposit account certificates to deceive customers. The police found various fake documents at her house and premises, including withdrawal slips and forged fixed deposit account certificates.