The Kaduna State High Court in Kaduna has sentenced two former bank employees, Obadofin Bamise and Hadiza Yakubu, to seven years’ imprisonment each for theft after they admitted diverting customers’ funds linked to accounts used for a federal government palliative scheme.
According to a statement by EFCC on Thursday, the trial judge, A. A. Bello, delivered his judgement after both defendants pleaded guilty to a separate one-count filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court, however, allowed each convict the option of paying a N50,000 fine instead of imprisonment.
Both defendants are former employees of Access Bank Plc and were prosecuted by the EFCC under section 274 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017.
How the theft happened
In the charge read in open court, Mr Bamise was accused of stealing N433,000 belonging to the bank, while Mr Yakubu was said to have diverted N806,000 between 5 November 2024 and 23 January 2025.
Prosecutors told the court that the offences were committed while both were still in active service at the bank and had direct access to customer accounts.
Both defendants pleaded guilty.
Following their plea, the prosecution lawyer, Moses Arumemi, urged the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.
Mr Bello then convicted them and imposed seven-year jail terms each, with an option of fine.
305 customers affected
EFCC investigators told the court that the case was not limited to the amounts contained in the charge sheet.
The commission said a wider probe showed that the two ex-bankers carried out unauthorised withdrawals on the accounts of 305 customers who were beneficiaries of the federal government’s palliative scheme.
In total, N7,842,700 was allegedly moved without authorisation and diverted through transactions linked to accounts associated with coordinators of the scheme.
After reviewing the guilty pleas and facts of the case, Justice Bello convicted both defendants and handed down the sentences with an option of fine.
A recurring pattern in bank insider fraud cases
The case adds to a steady stream of convictions involving bank staff who abuse access to customer accounts to move funds illegally.
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In recent years, the EFCC has secured several convictions of bank employees across the country for theft, ATM fraud, and unauthorised electronic transfers—often involving similar claims of internal access being exploited over time.
Observers say such cases continue to expose gaps in internal controls within financial institutions, especially where staff have direct access to sensitive customer data and government-linked intervention funds.
