Banker jailed 98 years for stealing N49m, $368,000

Justice Muniru Olagunju of the Oyo State High Court yesterday handed a cumulative 98 years prison sentence to a former staff of a first generation bank, Mrs Oreoluwa Adesakin.

Adesakin was found guilty of committing financial fraud by converting the sums of N49,320,652.32 and $368,203 belonging to the bank to her personal use between the months of May and November 2013 in Ibadan when she was a staffer of First Bank Plc.

The convict was prosecuted by the Ibadan Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 14-count charge bordering on stealing, forgery and fraudulent accounting.

She had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The prosecution counsel, Usman Murtala, presented vital documents and witnesses that nailed the defendant.

Justice Olagunju noted that the EFCC amassed “a pool of incontrovertible evidence” against Adesakin and did diligent investigation and prosecution.

He pronounced her guilty on all the charges, sentencing her to seven years in prison without an option of fine on each of the 14 counts, which will run concurrently.

Apart from the jail term, the convict will also restitute to the First Bank, through the EFCC, all the monies she stole.

The EFCC arraigned the defendant on April 4, 2014 following conclusion of investigations against her, which arose from a petition dated December 18, 2013 from her former employer.

The bank alleged in the petition that Adesakin, as its Money Transfer Operator saddled with the responsibility of effecting payments through Western Union Money Transfer and Money Gram platforms, fraudulently manipulated accounting and withdrew the total sums of N49,320,652.32 and another $368,203 for herself, which the bank only uncovered while reviewing its internal account.