The Kaduna State High Court has sentenced two former bankers, Obadofin Daniel Bamise and Hadiza Oyiza Yakubu, to seven years in prison each for theft.
The ex-officials of Access Bank Plc were prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on separate one-count charges of theft.
Obadofin was charged with stealing N433,000 from the bank between 5 November 2024 and 23 January 2025 while employed there. Yakubu faced a similar charge for stealing N806,000 within the same period.
Both defendants pleaded guilty. Prosecution counsel Moses Arumemi asked the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.
Justice A.A. Bello convicted the pair and sentenced each to seven years imprisonment or the option of a N50,000 fine.
The EFCC said investigations showed the convicts carried out unauthorised withdrawals from the accounts of 305 customers who were beneficiaries of the federal government’s Palliative Scheme, totaling N7,842,700. The funds were posted to the coordinators’ accounts of the scheme.
