By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
Justice Muniru Olagunju of the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has found a female ex-staff of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Oreoluwa Adesakin guilty of financial fraud and slammed her with cumulative sentence of 98 years imprisonment on 14 counts.
The convict was said to have committed financial fraud against her employers to the tune of N49,320,652.32 and additional $368,203.00 belonging to the bank which she converted to her personal use.
She was charged by the Ibadan Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,(EFCC), on 14-count charge, bordering on stealing, forgery and fraudulent accounting.
After hearing the 14-count charge preferred against her during arraignment, Adesakin maintained not guilty stance which warranted commencement of her trial.
During the trial, the prosecution counsel Usman Murtala while arguing his case, presented all necessary document and called witnesses who testified before the court.
Reading the judgement, Justice Olagunju held that the prosecution produced enough incontrovertible evidence against the convict and did a diligent investigation and prosecution.
He found Adesakin guilty of all the counts and convicted her as charged. He sentenced her to seven years imprisonment without any option of fine on each of the 14 counts, but added that the sentence will run concurrently.
Beside the jail term, the convict is also to restitute the First Bank, through the EFCC, all the money she stole.
Oreoluwa Adesakin was docked on April 4, 2014 by the EFCC following the conclusion of investigations against her which arose from a petition from her former employer, dated December 18, 2013.
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 $368,203.00 for herself, which the bank only uncovered while reviewing its internal account.
The EFCC was also able to establish that the convict used part of the proceeds of her crime to acquire landed properties in different parts of Oyo State.
One of the charges read: “That you Oreoluwa Adesakin sometime between the months of May, 2013 and November, 2013, at Ibadan within the Ibadan Judicial Division, whilst being a staff of First Bank PLC stole the sum of N25,974,116.13 (Twenty Five Million, Nine Hundred and Seventy Four Thousand, One Hundred and Sixteen Naira, Thirteen Kobo) from First Bank PLC MoneyGram Payment Naira Account, property of First bank PLC.”