3 Bank Guarantors Face Imprisonment After Borrower Absconded With N17.7m

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the trio has been arrested and charged for failure to produce the borrower or repayment of the said loan to the bank’s headquarters on Lewis Street, Lagos Island.

The matter was reported to the Police through a petition to the Assistant Commissioner of Police at Area A Command, Lion Building, Lagos, who then ordered for the arrest of the guarantors for interrogation over their alleged conduct.

According to the Police, the borrower,  Moruf, received the loan in May 2025 with the support of the three guarantors. And after collecting the loan, he absconded and disconnected every communication he had with the bank and the guarantors.

After thorough interrogation, the Police found them culpable and charged them  before the Igbosere Magistrate Court sitting at Tinubu on a four-count charge which included conspiracy, obtaining funds under false pretence and issuing cheques that were not honoured under Sections 411, 315, 321 and 287 of the Lagos State Criminal Law of 2015.

During the court proceedings, the Police prosecutor, Inspector Gbenga Salami, explained that the guarantors willingly endorsed Moruf as a credible borrower and pledged to ensure the repayment of the loan if he defaulted. Salami told the court that the defendants not only supported Moruf’s loan application but also failed to fulfill their legal responsibility to locate or produce him when he allegedly fled.

The prosecutor stressed that the law recognizes guarantors as responsible parties in loan transactions, emphasizing that their signatures played a direct role in the bank’s decision to release the funds. He added that guarantors may be held liable when a borrower abandons repayment obligations and efforts to trace them prove unsuccessful.

However, they pleaded not guilty.

The Court granted them bail with two sureties, who must show evidence of means of livelihood and tax payment while addresses will be verified by the Court.

They were remanded in custody at the correctional center pending when they will perfect their bail conditions.