N25m fraud: Court jails two ex-bankers after 10 years trial

Justice Adama Iyaye-Laminkara of the Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has convicted and sentenced a former manager of Diamond Bank Plc (now Access Bank), Chinyere Oti, and a former account officer of the same bank, Odigboh Okechukwu, to two years imprisonment.

The duo were jailed on Monday for defrauding the bank the sum of N25,018,467, the spokesman from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement.

The convicts were arraigned on November 19, 2009, by the Port Harcourt Zonal Office of the EFCC on seven charges bordering on conspiracy and stealing.

The charges were amended on April 25, 2019.
Count four of the charge read, “Odigboh Okechukwu and Chinyere Oti on or about the 23rd day of October, 2008 at Diamond Bank Plc Port Harcourt within the Port Harcourt Judicial Division did fraudulently steal the sum of twenty million four hundred and thirty one thousand three hundred and forty two naira five kobo (N20,431,342.05) property of Diamond Bank Plc by means of Diamond Bank Cheque No. 16216303 through an unfunded account in the name of Achufa Investment Limited operated by Odigboh Okechukwu and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 381 (1) and punishable under Section 390( 9) of the Criminal Code CAP 37 Vol. II Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1999.”

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Their pleas led to a 10-year- long trial.

The prosecution called three witnesses and tendered 15 exhibits while the defence called three witnesses.

Delivering her judgment on Monday, Justice Iyayi- Lamikanra found the two defendants guilty of the charges and sentenced them to two years imprisonment each or an option of fine of N1,000,000 each.

She also ordered the convicts to pay a sum of N25 million as restitution to Diamond Access Bank Plc.

Trouble came for the two convicts when the former Diamond Bank Plc petitioned the EFCC alleging that its manager at Rumukwrushi Branch in Port Harcourt, Mrs Chinyere Oti, fraudulently opened a current account for one of its customers and used the account to make fraudulent withdrawals and overdrew it to N25,018,467.

Investigations revealed that the alleged customer of the bank never opened an account with the bank, but Okechukwu used the customer’s photograph to open the account without the customer’s knowledge or consent.

It was through the account the two convicts defrauded the bank.