Access Bank Staff, 2 Others Sent To Prison For Robbery

MICHAEL AKINOLA

Michael Onwuche, a staff of Access Bank Plc, on Tuesday docked at a magistrate’s court in Lagos for allegedly stealing a phone and using the SIM card to hack into a customer’s account.

Onwuche, 33, who works at the Trade Fair branch of Access Bank, was arraigned before an Igbosere Chief Magistrate’s Court for allegedly conniving with two others to rob members of the public of their phones and SIM cards at Boundary Market, Ajegunle, Lagos and then use the SIM cards to hack into the victims’ accounts to withdraw money.

Others accused persons arraigned with the banker over the alleged crime are: Sunday Noah, 20 and Fatai Issa, 39.

A police officer, Adamu Ibrahim stated that the arrest of the accused persons was ordered by the Assistant Inspector General of Police, (AIG) in charge of Zone 2 Command, Lagos, following complaints by those allegedly robbed by the accused persons.

Police identified the victims as Grace Lawson, who lost her Samsung Galaxy XS phone valued at N37,000 and SIM card to the accused persons; Kate Esebeimen, who lost her Y3 phone valued at N15,000 and recharge cards valued at N25,000 to them, as well as one Ecobank Mastercard belonging to Chinyere Ejiogu and one Verve Prepaid ATM card belonging to Jacob Ayodele Ado.

The accused persons were arraigned before the court on a four count-charge of felony to wit, robbery and stealing money from bank customers accounts through online banking with various SIM cards belonging to the victims.

Police prosecutor, Inspector Francis Igbinosa, told the Court in charge No T/01/2018, that the accused persons committed the offence on 4 and 5 December, 2017, at boundary Market, Ajegunle, Lagos.

Igbinosa further stated that the banker connived with others to rob the complainants of their phones and ATM cards at the Boundary Market in Ajegunle and used the SIM cards inside the phones and the ATM cards to hack into the accounts of the victims to steal N250,000 from their accounts.

The accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty to the alleged crime.

Following their pleas, the presiding Magistrate, Aro Lambo, granted them bail in the sum of N500,000 each with two sureties each in like sum and adjourned the case till February 14, 2018 for mention.

Magistrate Lambo ordered that the three defendants be remanded at the Ikoyi Prisons, Lagos, pending when they are able to perfect the bail conditions.