•How Bank IT Staff Gave Defendants Access
Three men, Michael Igbomins, David Onyeike, and Moses Iruolaja has been arraigned before Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court for allegedly stealing the sum of N3.5 billion from Access Bank Plc and retained the proceed of crime.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned the trio on two counts charge bordering on stealing and retention of proceed of crime.
The EFCC counsel, Mr Abdulhamid Tukur told court that the defendants allegedly committed the offences sometimes in 2023 in Lagos, with dishonest intent, allegedly stole and converted to their own use the sum of N3, 473,166,731
billion, property of Access Bank Plc.
EFCC also alleged the defendants retained the said amount of money, the proceed they knew to have been
from unlawful act.
An access bank staff plugged an Hp Elitebook laptop into his branch network where he was working for about 16 years as an IT representative with the bank. He gave them remote access to his cohorts for them to perpetrate the fraud on the network of the bank. He employed other defendant and move money out through them.
According to the anti-graft commission, the offences are contrary to the provision of Section 17 of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004 and Section 280 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015.
They all pleaded not guilty to the charge read to them.
Following their not guilty plea, Tukur prayed the court for a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendants in correctional facility.
However, the defendants counsel, counsel, Mr. M. S. Amosun and Mr I. O. Lala informed the court that there was no pending application before the court but they prayed that they would do the needful before the next adjourned date.
Justice Abike-Fadipe subsequently adjourned the matter, remand them in Correctional Center.
