The LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited has responded to the suicide of a woman in Ogun.
According to LAPO, the woman who reportedly burned herself to death in Ogun State due to her inability to repay an N70,000 loan was not its customer.
This is in line with a statement that was sent to our correspondent by the acting Head of Communications and Branding of the bank, Abel Ovenseri, to defend the company's reputation.
The microfinance bank said in the statement that the woman who died was a customer of another bank.
According to the statement, "Contrary to the allegation in a trending video on social media and reported in some newspapers, the woman in Ogun State who reportedly took her life over her inability to pay back a loan was not a customer of LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited.", the claim was made in the statement.
"From our fundamental discoveries, which we are sure will be affirmed by an authority-free examination, she was a client of an alternate monetary foundation, which the clueless public confounded as 'LAPO'."
The bank expressed its condolences to the family of the deceased woman and condemned any attempt to harm the record and the company's reputation.
"In recent years, agenda-driven individuals have increased the number of similar false allegations against LAPO MFB.
Notably, the same person promoted one of the falsehoods in the most recent viral video. Demarketing, fake news and other unethical practices are all targets of LAPO MFB's legal investigation, it added.
The bank also said that while it encourages recipients of LAPO MfB loans to follow the terms of their agreement by making prompt payments, it also looks out for customers who are having real financial problems.
An earlier report said that a middle-aged woman named Mama Dada set herself on fire in her rented apartment because she couldn't pay back a loan of N70,000 she allegedly got from LAPO.
As the entire building in the Oke-Keesi, Itoko, Abeokuta neighborhood was torn down, it was learned that the deceased was burned beyond recognition.
