Two former Access Bank officials have been sentenced to seven years imprisonment each for stealing funds from customers’ accounts in Kaduna.

The Kaduna State High Court has sentenced two former bankers, Obadofin Daniel Bamise and Hadiza Oyiza Yakubu, to seven years imprisonment each for theft.

The former officials of Access Bank Plc were prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on separate one-count charges bordering on theft.
Obadofin was accused of stealing N433,000 from the bank between November 5, 2024, and January 23, 2025, while still employed by the financial institution. Yakubu was also charged with stealing N806,000 within the same period.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them. Following their pleas, prosecution counsel Moses Arumemi urged the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.
In his judgement, Justice A.A. Bello convicted the two former bankers and sentenced each of them to seven years imprisonment, with an option of a N50,000 fine.
According to the EFCC, investigations revealed that the convicts carried out unauthorised withdrawals from the accounts of 305 customers who were beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s Palliative Scheme. The anti-graft agency said the withdrawals amounted to N7,842,700, which was allegedly transferred into the accounts of the scheme’s coordinators.