A 29 year-old warder with the old Abeokuta Prisons, Ibara,
Abeokuta, Ogun State, Joseph Emmanuel is presently in the custody of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for allegedly assisting a prison
inmate in carring out fraudulent
financial transactions, as well as using the name and documents of an illiterate
taxi driver, to open a First Bank account for the inmate.
The suspect allegedly assisted the inmate whom he called
‘Ora’ to open the account, using
the name of one taxi driver in his neighbourhood called Monsuru Ogunsina
Adeogun". He took the step after he rejected the entreaties of the inmate to
avail him of his account number.
Having made a promise to help the inmate with an account
number, Emmanuel threw caution and his work ethics to the wind and went ahead to
open an account, in the name of
Adeogun, a father of four.
Investigations showed that, after filling out the account opening documents and observing all account opening formalities Emmanuel received the withdrawal booklet and an ATM card to the account. He handed the withdrawal booklet to Adeogun and according to him, “I took the ATM card to Ora (the inmate) and I helped him make three withdrawals from the account, until the fourth time when the ATM machine rejected the card and I called Adeogun to bring the withdrawal booklet, and it was that Tuesday (March 5, 2014) that Adeogun was arrested at the bank and I came down to EFCC to see him the following day and I was also detained for my involvement”.
During investigation, it was gathered that the same inmate had
previously convinced one Ogunnariwo Mary, a student of Tai Solarin University of
Education, Ijebu Ode, to help him open an account with her name. According to
Mary, “I went to the Abeokuta prisons to seek for an Industrial Attachment
placement, but was told that I have to go to the Head Office, but before I could
leave, an inmate who introduced himself as ‘Timilehin’ approached me and pleaded
with me to help him open an account for him with my name so that I can help him
withdraw money whenever his family pays in money into the account”.
She said she went ahead to open the account in her name,
and helped the inmate to make several withdrawals, which were always collected
by different men who managed to show up each time she got a call from the inmate
to go and make a withdrawal.
This, she said, happened between December 2013 and March 5,
2014, when she was also arrested because the ATM machine rejected the card and
she went into the banking hall to lodge a complaint and to make the withdrawal
with a withdrawal slip.
Both Adeogun and Mary Ogunnariwo were arrested the same day
and at the same bank and brought to the office of the EFCC together.
The suspects will be charged to court as soon as
investigations are concluded.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
12th March, 2014
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