Two former employees of Access Bank Plc have been convicted and sentenced to prison after being found guilty of stealing customers’ funds in Kaduna State.
The Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission secured the conviction of Obadofin Daniel Bamise and Hadiza Oyiza Yakubu before Justice A.A. Bello of the Kaduna State High Court.
Both ex-bank officials were prosecuted on separate one-count charges of theft involving funds belonging to bank customers. They pleaded guilty to the charges, which led to accelerated proceedings.
According to court details, Obadofin was accused of stealing ₦433,000, while Yakubu was charged with allegedly diverting ₦806,000 during her time at the bank between November 2024 and January 2025.
The court heard that the offences contravened Section 274 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017.
Following their guilty pleas, Justice Bello sentenced each of them to seven years imprisonment or an option of a ₦50,000 fine.
Investigations by the EFCC revealed that the fraudulent activity involved unauthorised withdrawals affecting 305 customers linked to the Federal Government’s palliative scheme. The total amount allegedly diverted was ₦7.84 million.
The EFCC said the funds were traced to accounts connected to coordinators of the scheme, and that the convicted staff abused their positions to process illegal transactions without customers’ consent.
The agency described the conviction as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen accountability and curb financial crimes within Nigeria’s banking sector.