The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday brought 9 bank staff before a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan over a N10m scam contrary to the earlier reported N86m.
The suspects, with 2 others at large, made up of some staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria, are being accused of conspiring, diverting and stealing a box of mutilated N1,000 notes meant for destruction in line with the CBN directive and substituting it with newspapers cut to its size, thereby subverting the apex bank’s effort at reducing dirty money in circulation.
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Faced with the 5-count charge to which they all pleaded not guilty‎ were: Patience Okoro Eye, Afolabi Olufemi Johnson, Ilori Adekunke Sunday, Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Muniru Adeola, and Fatai Adedokun Yusuff.
Others were Salami Ibrahim‎, Odiah Emmanuel, Toogun Kayode Phillips, as well as, Roy Akinsiku and Sobowale O. (who were both at large).
Despite spirited oral bail applications made by counsel to the accused persons, to which the EFCC prosecutor, Mr Rotimi Jacobs opposed, the Judge ordered that they be remanded in prison custody till June 9 when proper and formal bail applications would be argued.
Some of the accused persons arraigned, who had either been dismissed or suspended, which Silverbird gathered from a statement credited to the Director of Communications of the CBN, Ibrahim Mu’azu, were staff of: Zenith Bank, First CityMomument Bank (FCMB), Wema Bank, Access Bank, First Bank, Skye Bank, Ecobank and Sterling Bank.
After the bail argument on June 9, July 6 and 7 were also set aside for trial.
