An Ikeja Special Offences Court has sentenced Abubakar Sani to one year imprisonment for defrauding Lotus Bank of N16.7 million.
Justice Olubusola Okunuga handed down the sentence on Wednesday after Sani pleaded guilty to an amended one-count charge of being in possession of property reasonably suspected to have been stolen. The charge was filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In her ruling, Justice Okunuga said the court considered the fact that the convict was a first-time offender who did not waste the court’s time.
“Having pleaded guilty to the amended information and admitted to the review of facts and exhibits tendered by the prosecutor, the defendant is hereby convicted and sentenced to one year imprisonment,” she ruled.
The court, however, gave Sani an option of a N1 million fine and ordered the forfeiture of the funds in his Access and Keystone Bank accounts to the Federal Government.
Earlier, EFCC counsel, Mr Fanen Anum, told the court that the case originated from a July 2024 petition by Lotus Bank. The petition alleged that about 718 customers had exploited a malfunction in the bank’s E-bill pay platform, resulting in fraudulent transfers exceeding account balances.
Anum said Sani benefited N16.7 million from the scam, with some funds transferred to his brother’s Accra Bank account. He added that N4.18 million was found in the Access Bank account of Sani’s elder brother, Usman Sani, and another N1.09 million in Sani’s own Keystone Bank account—both of which were frozen during the investigation.
The EFCC tendered Sani’s statement and the relevant bank account statements, which were admitted as evidence without objection.
According to the commission, the offence violates Section 329 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
(NAN)