A Kaduna State High Court has convicted and sentenced two former bank employees prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over a fraud case involving the diversion of funds linked to a Federal Government palliative programme.
The convicts, Obadofin Bamise and Hadiza Yakubu, who previously worked with Access Bank, were sentenced by Justice A. A. Bello after pleading guilty to charges bordering on criminal breach of trust and unauthorised diversion of customer funds.
Justice Bello sentenced both defendants to seven years imprisonment each but gave them an option of a N50,000 fine in place of the jail term.
Court proceedings revealed that Bamise unlawfully diverted N433,000, while Yakubu fraudulently withdrew N806,000 from customer accounts between November 5, 2024, and January 23, 2025.
The EFCC told the court that the fraudulent withdrawals were carried out without the knowledge or consent of the affected customers while the defendants were serving as bank employees.
The anti-graft agency arraigned the defendants under Section 274 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017, following investigations into the alleged fraud.
Counsel to the EFCC, Moses Arumemi, urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants after they admitted guilt to the charges brought against them.
In his judgment, Justice Bello held that the prosecution successfully established its case through the defendants’ guilty pleas and the evidence presented before the court.
Investigations by the EFCC further revealed that the fraud extended beyond the amounts contained in the charge sheet.
According to the commission, unauthorised withdrawals amounting to about N7.84 million were traced to 305 customer accounts linked to beneficiaries of a Federal Government palliative intervention programme.
Investigators alleged that the diverted funds were moved through several transactions connected to accounts controlled by coordinators of the intervention scheme, raising concerns about insider abuse and weak internal control mechanisms within the banking system.
The case adds to the growing number of insider-related fraud incidents in Nigeria’s banking industry, where employees exploit privileged access to customer information and banking platforms for personal gain.
The EFCC has repeatedly advised financial institutions to strengthen their internal monitoring systems and tighten operational controls to curb insider fraud and safeguard customer funds.
