A Nigerian widow who spent more than eight months attempting to retrieve roughly ₦395,000 from her deceased husband’s account is urging married partners to share banking passwords and PINs so surviving spouses can avoid similar delays.
**What happened?**
- Her husband passed away in January 2025, leaving an account balance of about ₦395,000.
- The family has been making repeated visits to the bank for over eight months without securing the funds.
- She reports that transportation costs alone have consumed more than 20 % of the account’s value.
**What did she say?**
> “If you are not doing this because of weakness, you are doing it based on > trust and on the possibility that something could happen tomorrow,” she > explained.
**Why is sharing banking information important?**
The widow stresses that having a trusted person, especially a spouse, aware of account numbers, passwords and PINs can prevent loved ones from facing the bureaucratic hurdles she encountered after her husband’s death.
**What should couples do?**
She advises couples to discuss and record essential banking details in a secure place, ensuring that the surviving partner can access funds promptly in an emergency.
[Read more about the banking system in Nigeria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banking_in_Nigeria) for context on how banks handle account access after a holder’s death.