A Bank Cashier, 26-year-old David Anibolu, was on
Wednesday sentenced to four years in prison by an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court
in Lagos for stealing N9, 308,000 from a customer’s First Bank of Nigeria (FBN)
Plc account. Anibolu was arraigned on April 3, 2014 on a two-count charge of
conspiracy and stealing.
It was revealed by the prosecuting Police
Superintendent, Chidi Okoye, that on the 22nd of March 2015, Anibolu who was on
annual leave came to the bank where he worked at FBN Alaba 2 branch in Ojo
under the pretext that he wanted to assist a customer in posting his land use
charges. Anibolu allegedly used the opportunity to transfer the sum of N9.308
million from a customer's account into other accounts.
“He fraudulently changed a
customer’s identity and mandate card which enabled him to debit the said
account of the sum N9 million and transferred it into various accounts,” Okoye
said.
It was revealed that Anibolu confessed in a
statement tendered by the prosecution that his accomplices, who have all
absconded, promised to give him N4 million from the money stolen, however, they
disappeared with all the money.
According to the police, Anibolu said,
According to the police, Anibolu said,
“I have been working with
the bank as a teller since 2011 but on the day of the incident, I used the
passwords of my colleagues with the help of “F” Key logger given to me by my
friend called Afeez who is now at large. The logger helps link a customer’s
identification with another that has online banking, which enables cash to be
transferred successfully from one account to another. My regret now is that I
was supposed to get N4 million as my share but the receivers of the money have
since disappeared. I regret my action."
Anibolu denied that the statement is authentic,
claiming he was tortured by the police at the station to make the statement.
However, the Chief Magistrate A.O. Awogboro ruled that there was no evidence of
coercion or torture and accepted the prosecution's testimony as credible.
The trial which lasted for two years and nine month was brought to a close on January 25, 2017 with the Chief Magistrate finding him not guilty of a count of conspiracy but convicted him of stealing. He was sentenced to four years in prison, beginning from the date of his detention.
Before sentencing, Anibolu's lawyer, Philips Onyama, pleaded for a sentence of a fine, or a lenient jail term for his client.
The trial which lasted for two years and nine month was brought to a close on January 25, 2017 with the Chief Magistrate finding him not guilty of a count of conspiracy but convicted him of stealing. He was sentenced to four years in prison, beginning from the date of his detention.
Before sentencing, Anibolu's lawyer, Philips Onyama, pleaded for a sentence of a fine, or a lenient jail term for his client.
“He’s a first time
offender; he has no father, only a sick mother who relies on him to survive. He
has been in custody since March 24, 2014 and has suffered emotional and
physical torture. He is also now more sober and refined,” Onyama pleaded.
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