“₦50,000 FINE FOR STEALING FROM 305 PEOPLE”: TWO BANKERS CONVICTED, AVOID JAIL TIME
GREATRIBUNETVNEWS–KADUNA court sentences ex-Access Bank staff to 7 years with fine option
Key Issues:
1. Conviction and Sentencing
_”Two former Access Bank staff members convicted of stealing from 305 customers have been handed seven-year jail terms with an option of a ₦50,000 fine each.”
2. EFCC Secured the Conviction
_”The Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission secured the conviction of Obadofin Daniel Bamise and Hadiza Oyiza Yakubu before Justice A.A. Bello of the Kaduna State High Court.”
3. Victims Were Palliative Scheme Beneficiaries
_”EFCC investigations showed the case went beyond the individual charges. The agency said the convicts made unauthorised withdrawals from the accounts of 305 customers who were beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s Palliative Scheme.”
The total amount involved in the withdrawals was ₦7,842,700. Investigators said the stolen funds were posted into the accounts of coordinators of the palliative scheme.
The judgment has raised fresh concerns about insider fraud in the banking sector, particularly where vulnerable beneficiaries of government programs are targeted.
Many observers have questioned how staff linked to millions in fraudulent withdrawals could settle the case with a ₦50,000 fine each.
Both were prosecuted separately on one-count charges of theft. The court heard that between November 5, 2024 and January 23, 2025, the pair carried out unauthorised withdrawals while working at Access Bank’s Kaduna branch.
Bamise was charged with stealing ₦433,000 in bank property. Yakubu faced a charge for stealing ₦806,800. Both pleaded guilty.
Prosecution counsel Moses Arumemi asked the court to convict and sentence them accordingly. Justice Bello convicted the defendants and sentenced each to seven years imprisonment, with an option of a ₦50,000 fine.
EFCC investigations showed the case went beyond the individual charges. The agency said the convicts made unauthorised withdrawals from the accounts of 305 customers who were beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s Palliative Scheme.
The total amount involved in the withdrawals was ₦7,842,700. Investigators said the stolen funds were posted into the accounts of coordinators of the palliative scheme.
The judgment has raised fresh concerns about insider fraud in the banking sector, particularly where vulnerable beneficiaries of government programs are targeted. Many observers have questioned how staff linked to millions in fraudulent withdrawals could settle the case with a ₦50,000 fine each.
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