Justice Dije Abdu Aboki of the Kano State High Court yesterday
June 5, 2014 convicted and sentenced Bright Evobai and Okechukwu Okolo to forty
three years imprisonment for offences bordering obtaining by false pretence and forgery.
They were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) on November 27, 2012 on an eight count charge.
The convicts, former employees of Intercontinental Bank Plc
(now Access Bank), conspired and defrauded the bank to the tune of N9, 700, 000
(Nine Million Seven Hundred Thousand Naira Only). They allegedly used stolen
letterhead paper belonging to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano and forged the
signatures of four designated signatories including one of their superiors at
the bank, to siphon fund from the hospital’s fixed deposit account.
In an attempt to cover their track, they distributed the
proceeds of their crime into five different accounts within the branch.
They both pleaded not guilty upon arraignment.
In the course of trial, the prosecution called five witnesses
to prove its case.
Justice Aboki, in his ruling, found them guilty as charged
and sentenced both to seven years imprisonment on counts 1,2,3,4,5,6 with no
option of fine while the convicts are to serve six months imprisonment each, on
count seven and eight with an option
N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) and N20, 000 (Twenty Thousand Naira) fine respectively.
The sentences are to run concurrently.
The convicts were also ordered to pay N9.7million in
restitution to the bank.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
5th June, 2014
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