N8Bn Fraud: How Bankers Splashed Money on Property, Exotic Cars

A Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan was yesterday told how three staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and five staff of a commercial bank acquired assets worth several billions of naira through fraudulent means.

This was disclosed in the course of the N8 billion fraud allegation against some staff of the CBN – now dismissed – and some deposit money banks’ staff.

The assets said to have been acquired by the accused bank workers both within Nigeria and in Pretoria, South Africa, were allegedly got by inducing the CBN and stealing N1.25bn supposed mutilated currencies meant to be destroyed and taken out of circulation.

According to the prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, the accused persons had instead of carrying out the statutory instruction to destroy the defaced currency notes as their duty demands, substituted them with newspapers neatly cut to naira sizes and proceeded to put the mutilated and defaced currency back into the economy.

The eight accused persons brought to the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), were Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Muniru Adeola, Toogun Kayode Phillip, Ayodeji Aleshe, Isiaq Akao, Ajiwe Sunday Adegoke, Oyebamiji Akeem and Ayodeji Festus Adeyemi.

The accused are all facing a total of 28-count charge, ranging from conspiracy, abuse of office and stealing to false declaration of actual amount, concealing of property and fraudulently acquiring assets in excess of their legitimate and provable income.

The offence, as contained in a charge sheet read out to the accused persons, is punishable under section 7(2) of the Bank Employees etc (Declaration of Assets) Act, CAP. B1, Laws of the Federal Republic, Nigeria 2004.

All the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

A mild drama however occurred during the court sitting, when one of the accused persons, Ayodeji Aleshe, a cashier in one of the commercial banks, said he was an illiterate and that he could not understand the English language used in reading out the charge sheet to him.

The trial judge, Justice Adeyinka Faaj, who described the suspect’s claim as false, said he had earlier communicated with him in English and that he was very fluent in the use of English language.

The accused, for about 15 minutes, however remained adamant, trying to make the court believe that he is illiterate.

There was confusion until the judge ordered that an interpreter be sought to interpret the charge to him in Yoruba language in view of its importance.

Counsel to the accused persons urged the court to admit them on bail, but the judge however impressed on him the need to make a formal application in view of the weighty evidence against them.

Counsel to the fourth accused, Mr. Nathaniel Oke, SAN, had earlier reminded the court of his pending application for bail, but agreed with the submission of the judge on the bail application.

Counsel to the fifth and eighth accused persons, Mr. Michael Lana, in his own submission, drew the attention of the court to two applications served on the prosecution on Tuesday, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter.

Other defence counsels, Otunba Olayinka Bolanle, Olalekan Ojo, O. Uwawah and Oliver Okeke, also put up strong arguments to secure bail for their clients, but the trial judge objected, citing technical flaws in the procedure for the bail.

Justice Faaj, while vehemently objecting to oral application from the defence counsel, later adjourned the matter to June 8, 2015 to hear the bail applications.

He said: “I will suggest to all the counsels that you endeavor to file your written application for bail today (Wednesday), while the prosecution counsel should respond to them by Friday, June 5, 2015 and on Monday, June 8, 2015, when the hearing will be on the bail application.”

The judge also ordered the eight accused persons to be remanded in Agodi Prisons until the adjourned date, when bail application would be heard.

At the opening of the second case involving six commercial bank staff yesterday, counsel to the accused also laboured in vain to make the judge accept oral application for their bail.

The accused persons are, Oni Ademola Dolapo, Afolabi Esther Olunike, Ademola Ebenezer Adewale, Kolawole Muniru Adeola, Toogun Kayode Phillip and Omotoso Abimbola (now at large).

Mr. Jacobs, who is also the lead prosecution counsel, informed the court that his team had filed a charge dated May 19 and urged the court to accept it and permit it to be read to the accused.

The six accused persons were all facing a total of 15-count charge, ranging from conspiracy, abuse of office, stealing to false declaration of actual amount, concealing of property and fraudulently acquiring assets in excess of their legitimate and provable income.

They all pleaded not guilty to the charge.

After the plea was taken, the judge ordered that they be remanded in Agodi Prisons and adjourned the case to June 8, 2015 for hearing of bail application.

In the third case, five of the accused persons were involved, including a nursing mother of nine-month-old baby.

The accused persons were Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Muniru Adeola, Toogun Kayode Phillip, Olukunle Sijuade, and Kehinde Fadokun, the nursing mother.

The charge sheet against the accused was read out to them and they pleaded not guilty to the 15-count charge, ranging from stealing, fraud, conspiracy and acquiring for themselves supposed mutilated currencies and recycling same. Counsel to the nursing mother, Mr. Musibau Adetunbi, drew the attention of the court to the circumstances surrounding the accused person and requested the trial judge to grant an application before the court for bail for her but the judge declined.

The counsel further pleaded with the court to allow the accused to be remanded at the state CID in view of her peculiar circumstances.

The judge then granted the oral application made by the defence counsel, and ordered that the accused be remanded at the state CID, Iyaganku, Ibadan to afford her access to her baby.

Justice Faaj then adjourned the matter to June 12, 2015 for the hearing of the bail application.