The Economic and Financial Crime Commission, (EFCC), Ibadan Zonal office has arraigned one Adejare Sonde, a former banker with First City Monument Bank (FCMB), for stealing N124million.
The ex-banker was arraigned before Justice A. A. Akinyemi of the State High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State on a twelve – count charges bordering on stealing, forgery and uttering yesterday.
The defendant however, pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him.
The prosecution counsel, Cosmos Ugwu prayed the court for a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant in prison custody.
While, counsel to the defendant, E. E. Jacob informed the court of a bail application already filed before the court. He thereafter prayed the court to allow the defendant remain in the EFCC’s custody pending the hearing of his bail application.
Justice Akinyemi therefore, granted the defense prayer and ordered that the defendant be remanded in EFCC’s custody pending hearing of bail application.
Adeyemi was said to have been arraigned following a petition from a Regional Compliance Head and Compliance Officer of one of the new generation banks (name withheld) alleging that the defendant, Adejare Sonde whilst still a staff of the bank and also an account office of a Microfinance bank suppressed and diverted the sum of One Hundred and Twenty Four Million Naira property of the Microfinance bank.
The petitioner also explained that Adejare as account officer of the customer allegedly collected cash from the Microfinance bank on several occasions totaling N124Million which were not credited into the customer’s account. Further investigations revealed that the defendant allegedly doctored emails which he sent to the microfinance bank as monthly statements of account meanwhile there was no remit in the account.
One of the charge reads: Adejare Sonde between March 2015 and February 2017 whilst a staff of FCMB PLC and the account officer of UNAAB Microfiance Bank Ltd Account No: 0725813014 domiciled at the UNAAB main campus branch of FUMB, Abeokuta, within the Abeokuta Judicial Division stole the sum of N54, 000,000.00 (Fifty Four Million Naira) only property of UNAAB Microfinance Bank Ltd.
And the other charge reads: Adejare Sonde on or about the 1st of July, 2016 whilst a staff of FCMB PLC and the account officer of UNAAB Microfinance Bank Ltd Account No: 0725813014 domiciled at the UNAAB main campus branch of FUMB, Abeokuta, within the Abeokuta Judicial Division stole the sum of N40,002,100.00 ( Forty Million, Two Thousand One Hundred Naira) only property of UNAAB Microfinance Bank Ltd.
The case was adjourned to Friday February 16, 2018 for trial and hearing of bail application.