The First Lady of Borno State, Dr. Falmata Babagana Zulum, on Wednesday rewarded a cleaner, Faiza Abdulkadir, with N1 million for returning N4.8 million mistakenly credited to her bank account.
Faiza, who works at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and earns N30,000 monthly, caters for her five children and aged mother.
Presenting the reward at an event in Maiduguri, Zulum said the gesture was to honour Faiza’s rare integrity.
“I am pleased that a person of such calibre is a woman from Borno State. She should be a role model for all men and women. I presented her with N1 million to support her family,” she said.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo, also announced additional support in the form of vocational equipment and food items.
Gambo described Faiza’s honesty as “a rare and inspiring display of integrity, which shows that honesty is not determined by wealth but by character.”
Recall that Faiza, a resident of Gwange in Maiduguri, had received a credit alert of N4.8 million from a man in Kebbi State.
The cleaner, who said she acted out of the fear of God, reported the incident to her bank and returned the money after a three-day process.
“The money does not belong to me. I returned it to have peace of mind and avoid God’s punishment on the Day of Judgment,” Faiza said.
Her neighbours and bank officials commended her action, describing her as a modest woman raising her children with discipline and good values.
