Court sentences man to prison for stealing N6.9m from bank customer’s account

Justice Usman Na’abba of the Kano State High Court sitting in Kano has sentenced one Faruk Sani to two and half years imprisonment for stealing the sum of N6.9 million from a United Bank for Africa (UBA) customer’s account.

Sani was sentenced to imprisonment after pleading guilty to five-count charges bordering on stealing, upon his arraignment by the Kano Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

One of the charges  read: “That you Faruk Sani and others now at large on or about 18th December, 2020, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court committed theft of the sum of N4, 000,000.00 (Four Million Naira only) by taking it out of the possession of United Bank for Africa Plc  through Yetunde Olariyiki Ajayi- Bembe’s Account No. 2062266268 with the Bank and paid into Bayelsa Oil & Gas Services Company Ltd’s Account No. 1018500218 domiciled with United Bank for Africa Plc and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 286 of the Penal Code, Laws of Northern Nigeria and punishable under Section 287 of the same Code.”

The convict pleaded guilty to the five counts when they were read to him.

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Following his plea, prosecution counsel, Ahmed Aroga, prayed the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.

Justice Na’abba, however, sentenced the defendant to six months imprisonment on each of the five counts with a fine option of N50,000 on each count.

Sani’s journey to the Correctional Centre started when a petitioner alleged that he conspired with four other suspects: Ibrahim Abubakar,  Abubakar Ibrahim Musa Kofa, Musa Sanusi Abdulsalam and Aliyu Auwal Umar (at large) and stole the sum of N6,900, 900 (Six Million, Nine Hundred Thousand and Nine Hundred Naira) by hacking into an account belonging to Yetunde Olariyiki Ajayi-Bembe and transferred the money into several bank accounts.

The Star