Court Jails Lagos Speaker’s Aide, Access Bank Manager over N672m Fraud

The Personal Assistant to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Atoyebi Olabode, was on Friday remanded at the Ikoyi Prisons by the Lagos High court in Igbosere over an alleged N672 million fraud.


A former manager of Intercontinental Bank (now Access Bank) Olayinka Sanni was also remanded alongside Olabode.

This followed the application of Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, the counsel of the anti-graft agency, EFCC for their continued detention.

The presiding judge, Justice Deborah Oluwayemi, said the defendants would be in custody till the next adjourned date fixed for Feb. 7.

The duo who are been prosecuted by the EFCC on an eight-count charge of conspiracy, intent to defraud, forgery and stealing, are said to have committed the offences between Dec. 22, 2010 and July 27, 2011.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Defence Counsel, Mr Tijani Abdulslam, who opposed the remand application by the EFCC, urged the court to grant the defendants bail.

The anti-graft agency deposed that Atoyebi, Sanni, and a company SIDAW Ventures stole N672, 414,631, property of Murhi International Ltd.

The commission also alleged that the first defendant, Sanni, with intent to defraud, knowingly forged a document titled "Intercontinental Bank Confirmation No. 00712386″.

It alleged that the defendant held the document as one purportedly issued by the bank to Murhi International.

The commission also alleged that Sanni forged another Intercontinental Bank confirmation document No. 00712385, D/00354856 and 0/00200800 also purported to have been issued by the bank to Murhi.

Also, the commission said that the defendant uttered a false Intercontinental Bank confirmation document 0/00200800 to Alhaji MG Busari, CEO of Murhi Group.

The EFCC said that the offence contravened Sections 390, 467, 468 and 516 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State, 2003.