The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction of a former bank cashier, Ebenezer Adeolu Alonge, alongside his wife, Isakunle Olamide Oyinlola, and his mother-in-law, Isakunle Eunice Moradeke for stealing depositors’ funds.
The trio were on Friday convicted and sentenced to 60 years imprisonment by Justice Adekanye Ogunmoye of Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti on a 12-count charge of conspiracy and stealing brought against them by the Ibadan Zonal office of the EFCC.
Justice Ogunmoye, in his judgment, ruled that the prosecution team led by Abdulrasheed Lanre Suleiman proved their case beyond reasonable doubt and that the convicts had failed to extricate themselves from the self-evidenced proofs before the court.
The EFCC, in a statement by its Head, Media and Publicity, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said the journey to the dock started when the illicit activities of Ebenezer got exposed through a petition to the anti-graft agency from one of the new generation banks alleging that one of her staff by name Ebenezer Adeolu Alonge was involved in fraudulent activities.
It was alleged that sometime in February 2018 the bank received a complaint concerning the financial impropriety of the sum of N62, 400.00 in respect of a customer’s account.
According to the petitioner, on February 15, 2017, a customer lodged the said sum into her account but the transaction could not be traced in the customer’s account even after the customer presented a copy of the slip signed by Alonge.
In the course of the investigation, the said transaction was allegedly traced to Ebenezer Alonge’s wife’s account. Further investigation, however, revealed that there was a turnover of over ₦21 million as a deposit from other customers in his wife’s account.
Also, it was alleged that other sums were traced to his mother-in-law’s account, who was also a beneficiary of the fraudulent act.
EFCC, in the course of trial, called two witnesses and tendered several exhibits to prove their case.
The convicts were found guilty on all twelve count charges and sentenced to five years on each count. The cumulative sixty years prison terms will, however, run concurrently.
The court also ordered Alonge to forfeit his house, which shall be sold and the proceeds used to restitute the bank.
