Court Remands Six CBN Officials Over N8bn Scam
JUSTICE Ayo Emmanuel of a Federal High Court, Ibadan, on Tuesday remanded six officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria arraigned for stealing and circulating mutilated Naira notes meant for destruction by the apex bank.
JUSTICE Ayo Emmanuel of a Federal High Court, Ibadan, on Tuesday remanded six officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria arraigned for stealing and circulating mutilated Naira notes meant for destruction by the apex bank.
The six — Patience Okoro, Afolabi Johnson, Ilori Sunday, Kolawole
Babalola, Olaniran Adeola and Fatai Yusuf — were arraigned by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, charged for conspiracy,
diversion and stealing of mutilated naira notes worth N8bn, Punch
reports.
They were also accused of replacing the mutilated currencies with
cut-to-size newspapers and converting the money to their personal use.
Others charged alongside the CBN officials were Kayode Philips, Salami
Ibrahim and Odiah Emmanuel. They were charged with conspiracy with other
officials of CBN and other banks.
Two others-Roy Akinsiku and O. Sobowale-were said to be at large.
Counsels for the accused persons made oral applications for bail but the
judge refused the applications and ordered that the accused be remanded
in the EFCC office or at the Criminal Investigation Department,
Iyaganku Police Division, Ibadan.
Justice Emmanuel has also fixed Tuesday, June 9, 2015 for argument of
the written bail applications and fixed July 6 and 7, 2015 for the
commencement of trial.
The CBN had said that some of its official had been investigated and
found to have compromised their integrity by stealing and circulating
mutilated currency billed for destruction.
“During a routine internal audit of the bank’s cash destruction
activities in September 2014, the CBN Briquetting Panel comprising
senior bank staff from different branches noticed some anomalies at the
Ibadan branch, and immediately reported this to the bank’s management.
On further investigation ordered by the governor, it was discovered that
a systematic scheme, which has been on for several years, was being run
in which mutilated higher denomination notes originally meant for
destruction were swapped with lower denomination currencies,” the apex
bank had said in a statement.
The EFCC prosecution team led by Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) included the
immediate past Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General in Oyo
State, Mr. Adebayo Ojo; A. Adebisi, Sunday Aborisade, Rotimi Oye, O.M.
Atoyebi, Sola Olanibiire.
The accused persons were represented by K.A. Lawal, Bola Alabi, A.O.
Ajayi, Olayinka Bolanle, and B.B.M. Ashie of Olalekan Ojo Chambers.
The five count charge read to the accused persons said they committed an
offence under Section 7 (2) of the Bank Employees (Declaration of
Assets) Act Cap. B1 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
One of the counts against the bank officials read, “The accused persons
on or about 5th August, 2014 in Ibadan within the jurisdiction of this
honourable court engaged in corrupt practices when they replaced the
content of a box of N1,000 notes denomination in a total sum of N10m
marked as ‘Counted Audited Dirty’ meant for briquetting with newspapers
and which sum you converted to your own use and you thereby committed an
offence punishable under Section 1 (2) (a) and Section 10 (1) of the
Recovery of Public Property (Special Provision) Act Cap. R4 Laws of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.”