#NIGERIA: Corrupt CBN officials, others acquired estates in South Africa, Nigeria

EFCC Operatives leading the suspects in the N8billion Cbn officials fraud to the court premises in Ibadan

The Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan yesterday ordered the remand of another set of eight bank officials for alleged N8 billion currency scam.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned three Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officials and five employees of First Bank Plc over the alleged scam.

The accused, the court heard, acquired assets in Nigeria and Pretoria, South Africa.

The CBN employees are Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Adeola and Togun Kayode Phillips. Their alleged accomplices are Isiaq Akao, Ayodele Festus Adeyemi, Oyebamiji Hakeem, Ayodeji Alase and Ajiwe Adegoke

The commission arraigned the bank officials on a 28-count charge bordering on forgery, misrepresentation and self-enrichment before Justice Adeyinka Faji.

The EFCC in the charge said that the CBN staff conspired with the First Bank employees to....

recycle N10 billion mutilated currency notes meant to be destroyed.

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

The six accused persons are facing a 15-count charge ranging from conspiracy, abuse of office and stealing to false declaration of actual amount.

The others are  concealing of property, fraudulently acquiring assets in excess of their legitimate and provable income and causing economic adversity to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The court was told how the suspects acquired assets worth several billions of naira through fraudulent means, in excess of their legitimate income.

The assets said to have been acquired by the accused bank workers both within Nigeria and Pretoria, South Africa, were allegedly gotten by stealing N1.25billion supposed mutilated currencies meant to be destroyed and taken out of circulation.

The accused persons, according to the prosecution counsel, Mr Rotimi Jacobs, instead of carrying out the statutory instruction to destroy the defaced currency notes as their duty demands, substituted the currency with newspapers  neatly cut to naira sizes and proceeded to recycle the mutilated and defaced currency.

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