Yet again, First City Monument Bank, FCMB is in the news for the wrong reason and this time, one Adebayo Ayokunle, a former staff of the bank was arrested and charged before a Lagos Magistrate’s Court for allegedly withdrawing the sum of N30million from his employer’s account and converted it to his personal use just one year after he secured the job and escaped.
The 29 years old banker, this platform learnt, was attached to the E-Settlement Unit of FCMB Bank, the Akoka, Lagos branch.
According to the Nigerian Police, nemesis caught up with Mr. Ayokunle, when the Management of the Bank audited the account of the Akoka branch and uncovered the fraud and reported the matter to the Divisional Police Officer, DPO in charge of Lion Building Division, Lagos Island, Lagos.
The DPO, it was gathered directed his men led by Inspector Akubor Hassan to fish out the defendant from where he was hiding and according to the Police, after days of Intelligence gathering tracked the defendant to a hideout in Lagos and arrested him.
The defendant, a resident of Agric area of Ikorodu, Lagos was charged before the Tinubu Magistrate’s Court, Lagos on one count charge of stealing.
The Police Prosecuting Counsel, Inspector Hafsat Ajibode told the Court in the charge marked M/08/2022 that the defendant, Mr. Adebayo Ayokunle committed the offence between February and March, 2019 at the E-Settlement Unit of the bank, Akoka branch, Lagos just one year after he secured the job, informing the Court that the defendant betrayed the trust reposed n him by his employer as a Settlement Officer of the bank and fraudulently stole the sum of N30m from his employer’s account and escaped before he was arrested.
She said the offence the defendant committed were contrary to section 280 and punishable under section 287(7) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, but the defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge and the Magistrate, Mrs. Gbajumo Ayoku granted him N2m bail with two sureties in like sum.
Ayoku adjourned the case till 18 May, 2022 for commencement of trial and ordered that the defendant be kept at the Ikoyi correctional facility till he perfected his bail conditions.