After ten years of trial, Justice Adama Iyami- Lamikanra of the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has found a former Manager Chinyere Oti, and an Account Officer, Odigboh Okechukwu, of Diamond Bank Plc, now Access Bank, guilty as charged.
The court convicted and sentenced the duo to two years imprisonment for defrauding the bank over twenty five million naira.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in Port Harcourt, had arraigned the convicts on November 19, 2009, on seven-count charges bordering on conspiracy and stealing.
The charges were later amended on April 25, this year.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution called three witnesses and tendered 15 exhibits while the defence called three witnesses.
Delivering verdict, Justice Iyayi- Lamikanra who gave the convicts an option of fine of one million naira each, ordered them to pay a sum of twenty five million as restitution to the bank.
Trouble came for the two convicts when the former Diamond Bank Plc petitioned the EFCC alleging that its Manager, Rumukwrushi Branch, Port Harcourt, Chinyere Oti, fraudulently opened a Current Account for one of its customers and used the account to make fraudulent withdrawals and overdrew it to the tune of N25,018,467.
Investigations later revealed that the alleged customer of the bank never opened an account with the bank, rather, Odigboh Okechukwu, used the customer’s photograph to open the account without the customer’s knowledge or consent.
It was through the account the two convicts defrauded the bank.
