Editor: Uyi Great Osunde is innocent and a victim of character assassination. He deserves an apology from Scotia Bank for being accused of deception. Uyi Great Osunde was arrested, charged to court in a case of deception; however, there was a release from the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) of an abandonment of the suit after forensic evidence revealed, indeed, Osunde has no case to answer and therefore remains innocent.{{more}}

To be wrongfully accused of a crime far away from home is heartbreaking; it is sad that Osunde spent his Christmas holidays in jail, only to discover a few months afterwards that he was telling the truth. After reading the news article, nowhere did a representative of Scotiabank tender an official apology to Osunde for what he went through. Is ScotiaBank too big a corporation to apologize to a customer?

Could the bank have handled the case in a more diligent manner? A suggestion comes to mind. What if the bank had ensured Osunde suspended any travels out of the country, while conducting the necessary investigations; if there was an established case, an arrest could have been made. However, the inverse was the case. Like putting on one’s shoes before the socks.

It is commendable that the case has been pursued to a logical conclusion. ScotiaBank has not lost any money, but Osunde has lost the innocence of his reputation. While reading the news article published in the February 26th edition of Searchlight, at no point did ScotiaBank apologize to Osunde for the psychological and emotional torture he went through. He is a victim of character assassination. He was wrongfully accused. He deserves an apology.

Being falsely accused leaves a bad bruise, and at the end someone loses. Here, Osunde lost. Osunde lost his Christmas holiday, Osunde lost his reputation, Osunde lost friends. He can never get back what he has lost, but he can get an apology. Osunde’s reputation is stained and perhaps, may never sparkle. The least he deserves is a heartfelt apology from the management.

EEO