Four staff steal N150 million from a Lagos microfinance bank.
Four men were prosecuted at the Yaba Magistrates' Court on Friday for allegedly defrauding their company, Think Finance Microfinance Bank, of N150m in the FESTAC Town region of Lagos State.
The defendants include the company's Head of Risk Management, Ojimi Ayodeji, the Loan Officer, Isaac Eddy, Joseph Setonji, and Juwon Irinyemi, and were charged with three counts of theft before Magistrate Patrick Nwaka.
The prosecutor, Thomas Nurudeen, told the court that the defendants employed by the firm were tasked with making loans to people for business purposes, but they conspired and borrowed money from the firm in the amount of N150m, which they shared among themselves without interest and never paid back.
To borrow the money, the defendants provided individuals and represented them with false bank verification numbers, account names, and passport images.
According to Nurudeen, the defendants committed the crimes between 2019 and December 2022 at the Think Finance Microfinance bank in FESTAC Town.
According to Nurudeen, the offenses violated and are punishable under Sections 314, 325 (1), and 287 (a) (b) (e) of the Lagos State Criminal Law, 2015.
The charges read in part, "That you, Ojimi Ayodeji, head of risk management, Isaac Eddy, loan officer, Joseph Setonji, Juwon Irinyemi and others now at large, between the year 2019 and December 2022, at the Think Finance Microfinance Bank, FESTAC Town, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit fraud and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 325 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
"That between 2019 and December 2022, at the Think Finance Microfinance Bank, FESTAC Town, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, you, Ojimi Ayodeji, head of risk management, Isaac Eddy, loan officer, Joseph Setonji, Juwon Irinyemi, and others now at large, fraudulently allocated loans of N150m to the individual representing them with BVN and account name and passport photographs which were not real, the representation which you knew
The defendant, on the other hand, pleaded not guilty to the accusations.
The defense attorney, one barrister Ola, requested that the court grant them release on the most generous terms possible.
Nwaka admitted them to bail in the sum of N2m apiece, with four responsible sureties in the same quantity, without protest from the prosecution.
He stated that each surety will provide a three-year tax clearance receipt that would be verifiable by the court and delayed the matter until August 16, 2023.
What's Your Reaction?
