Two former staff of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc (now Access Bank Plc) are currently facing trial before Chief Magistrate, Oshodi-Makanju, of an Ikeja Magistrate Court for allegedly stealing N28.81 million belonging to the bank.
The prosecutor, Police Superintendent J. Onilegbale told the court that the money, which was meant for the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), was stolen in bits by the two defendants over a period of seven months (February to September 2009 ) until it accumulated to N28 million.
The defendants, Olanrewaju Shittu, 26, and Babatunde Salami, 25, are standing trial before the court and had since pleaded not guilty to the charges preffered against them. They are facing a seven-count charge bordering on conspiracy, fraud and stealing.
The court had earlier granted them bail in the sum of N1 million each and two sureties in the like sum, one of which the magistrate said must be a director of a bank or in the civil service.
The prosecutor told the court that Shittu and Salami, on September 8, 2009 conspired to defraud the bank of the said sum contrary to the law. He submitted that Salami received N700,000 from Shittu, knowing same to have been stolen from the money meant for ATMs and thereby committed an offence.
He claimed that one of the defendants, Shittu, opened different accounts with FirstBank of Nigeria Plc with the intent to defraud the defunct Intercontinental Bank.
The prosecutor alleged that part of the stolen N28.7 million was lodged into the accounts and gave details as follow: Account no: 4852010020068—N1,016,136.25; current account no: 4854010003780—N3,000,000.00; fixed deposit account no: 48554010003629—N5,000,000.00 and fixed deposit account no: 4852920730396—$7,282.89
He alleged that Salami did received the various sums of money from Shittu knowing fully well that the money was meant for the ATM Machine.
The prosecutor further argued that Shittu also stole N110,000 that was meant for the ATMs from the Lawanson Branch of the defunct Intercontinental Bank on September 4, 2009 at about 09. 07 a.m., adding that the money was, however, recovered by one Akinshola Akinshina, who was the Acting Operations Officer of the branch of the bank at that time.
