The Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has secured the conviction and sentencing of two former employees of Access Bank Plc over theft of customers’ funds, in a case that has raised fresh concerns about internal fraud in the banking sector.
The convicts, Obadofin Daniel Bamise and Hadiza Oyiza Yakubu, were sentenced by Justice A.A. Bello of the Kaduna State High Court after they separately pleaded guilty to one-count charges bordering on theft.
Court documents showed that the offences occurred between November 5, 2024 and January 23, 2025, while both defendants were still employees of the bank in Kaduna.
Prosecutors told the court that Obadofin stole N433,000, while Yakubu diverted N806,000, all belonging to customers of the bank. The funds were described as money in the possession of the bank but unlawfully converted by the defendants in breach of trust.
Following their guilty pleas, prosecution counsel, Moses Arumemi, urged the court to impose the full weight of the law.
Justice Bello subsequently convicted both former bankers and sentenced them to seven years imprisonment each, with an option of a N50,000 fine respectively.
Investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission revealed that the convicts allegedly exploited their positions to carry out unauthorised withdrawals affecting 305 customers who were beneficiaries of a Federal Government palliative initiative.
The anti-graft agency further disclosed that a total of N7.84 million was fraudulently withdrawn from multiple accounts and diverted into accounts linked to coordinators of the scheme.
The EFCC said the illegal transactions were uncovered after a detailed audit and tracking of suspicious banking activities within the affected branch.
It added that the prosecution and conviction form part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen accountability and deter financial crimes within Nigeria’s banking industry.
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