How to Unfreeze a Deceased Bank Account in Nigeria

When a bank in Nigeria receives formal notice that an account holder has died, it freezes every associated account immediately. This is not a decision — it is a legal obligation under Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulations and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020. The freeze protects the estate from fraud, identity theft, and unauthorized withdrawals.

The problem is that the family often needs those funds urgently — for funeral expenses, probate registry fees, and basic living costs. Yet the accounts cannot be accessed without a court order. Here is how the process works.

The Next of Kin Myth

The most dangerous misconception in Nigerian estate settlement is that a designated "Next of Kin" on a bank account opening form has the legal authority to withdraw funds after the account holder dies.

This is completely false. The Court of Appeal ruled in Union Bank of Nigeria Plc v. Ajabule (2011) that a listed Next of Kin cannot access or distribute account funds without formal probate procedures. In Nigerian law, "Next of Kin" is strictly an emergency contact designation. It confers zero rights to manage, withdraw from, or close an account.

Any bank that releases funds to a Next of Kin without a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration is acting unlawfully. And any person who attempts to withdraw funds using the Next of Kin designation is committing intermeddling — which carries both civil and criminal liability.

What You Actually Need

To unfreeze a deceased person's bank account, you must present the bank with:

1. A Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration — issued by the Probate Registry of the State High Court
2. The original NPC death certificate — the official certificate from the National Population Commission, not just the hospital medical certificate
3. Valid government-issued ID and passport photographs of all named administrators or executors
4. Proof of relationship — birth certificate, marriage certificate, or other documentation linking the administrator to the deceased
5. A formal application letter to the bank's legal department

The bank's legal team independently verifies the authenticity of the court grant by contacting the issuing Probate Registry. This verification can take several weeks.

The Bank Certificate Process

During the probate application itself, you will encounter an intermediate step called the Bank Certificate process. The Probate Registry issues a paper form that you must physically take to every bank where the deceased held accounts. At each bank, an officer checks the ledger, writes the exact closing balance on the form, stamps it, and signs it. You then return the completed form to the registry's valuation unit, which uses it to calculate the estate duty.

This is a manual, in-person process — expect to spend days visiting branches. It is not the same as unfreezing the accounts. The Bank Certificate only confirms balances for valuation purposes. The accounts remain frozen until the court grant is issued.

Joint Accounts: The Key Distinction

Joint accounts follow different rules depending on how they were set up:

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship — if the account opening mandate explicitly includes a survivorship clause, the surviving account holder retains full access to the funds upon the other holder's death. The deceased's share passes automatically.

Tenancy in common — if the mandate lacks an explicit survivorship clause, the courts presume a tenancy in common. The deceased's share of the funds is immediately frozen and requires a court grant to access, just like a sole account.

Most Nigerian joint accounts do not include explicit survivorship clauses, which means the deceased's share is frozen by default. Check the original account opening documents to determine which type applies.

The 10-Year Forfeiture Rule

If a frozen account remains inactive and unclaimed for 10 years, the bank is legally required under Section 45(1) of BOFIA 2020 to transfer the funds to the Central Bank of Nigeria. This is not a theoretical risk — it is a statutory mandate. Families who delay probate applications indefinitely risk losing the funds entirely.

Emergency Access for Probate Fees

One catch-22 of Nigerian probate is that the estate duty (10% of assessed value in Lagos) must be paid before the court issues the grant — but the estate's money is frozen in the bank. In some cases, the Probate Registry can issue a temporary court order directing the bank to release a portion of the deceased's funds specifically for probate registry fees and urgent estate administration costs.

Ask your probate registrar about this option if the estate faces liquidity problems.

Timeline

From the date you receive your Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, expect the bank verification and fund release process to take 4 to 12 weeks depending on the bank's internal legal review speed and the complexity of the account structure.

The Nigeria Estate Settlement Guide covers the complete bank account unfreezing process alongside every other step in estate settlement — from death registration through final distribution — with the exact documents, forms, and agency contacts for each stage.

Guide to Estate Settlement and Inheritance in Nigeria →