Matilda Omonaiye/
Two officials of Access Bank Plc, Sani Endurance Aferokhe and Hillary Odo, have been convicted and sentenced to a cumulative eight years imprisonment for diverting and stealing N10.3 million belonging to pensioners. The judgment was delivered by Justice A.O. Onovo of the Enugu State High Court, sitting in Independence Layout, on Monday.
The duo were arraigned by the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on January 18, 2016, facing a 15-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, and stealing. The offences, committed in 2012 while they served at the then Intercontinental Bank Plc (now Access Bank Plc), involved illicit reactivation of dormant customer accounts belonging to pensioners and illegal withdrawal of funds for personal gain.
One of the charges reads: “Sani Endurance Aferokhe and Hillary Odo, on or about November 21, 2012, at Nsukka, while serving as staff of Intercontinental Bank Plc (now Access Bank Plc), stole the sum of Four Million, Four Hundred and Forty-Four Thousand Naira (N4,440,000.00) from the account of Udekwu F. A. O, thereby committing an offence.”
Another count indicates their involvement in stealing “N2,113,610.40 from the account of Onuora George on October 12, 2012” within the court’s jurisdiction.
The EFCC, led by counsel ACE II Michael Ikechukwu Ani, called five witnesses and tendered several documents during the trial. The defendants initially pleaded not guilty, prompting a full trial.
In the judgment, the court dismissed counts six and nine. The second defendant, Hillary Odo, was convicted on counts four and seven and sentenced to five years imprisonment on each count, with an option of N100,000 fine per count. The first defendant, Sani Endurance Aferokhe, was convicted on counts one, two, three, five, eight, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. He received five years imprisonment on all but count 15, which carried a three-year term, also with an option of N100,000 fine.
The court affirmed that the offences violate Section 459(a) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 30, Laws of Enugu State, 2004.
The EFCC announced the development in a post on its X handle, describing the judgment as another victory for accountability and financial integrity within Nigeria’s banking sector.
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