MICHAEL AKINOLA
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, July 9, 2026, arraigned a former staff of Access Bank Plc, Chinonso Akujobi, before the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja over an alleged theft of N294,595,992.
The defendant was arraigned before Justice I.O. Ijelu on a five-count charge bordering on stealing.
According to the EFCC, the offences were committed sometime between January and December 2025 while the defendant was under the employment of Access Bank Plc.
One of the counts read: “That you, Chinonso Akujobi, sometime between January and December, 2025, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with a dishonest intent, and while under the employment of Access Bank Plc, stole and converted for your own use, by unauthorized payments from the general ledger of the bank to your Access Bank account number 0036668871 with the names Chinonso A., Uchechi A. and Florence A., the sum of N109,325,566.86 (One Hundred and Nine Million, Three Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand, Five Hundred and Sixty-six Naira, Eighty-six Kobo), thereby committed an offence of stealing, contrary to Section 280 and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.”
Other counts in the charge similarly alleged unauthorized diversion of funds from the bank’s general ledger into accounts linked to the defendant, totaling N294,595,992.
Chinonso Akujobi pleaded “not guilty” to all five counts when they were read to her.
Following her plea, prosecution counsel, S.M. Yabo, asked the court for a trial date and prayed for the remand of the defendant in a correctional facility pending trial.
In a ruling, Justice Ijelu ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre. The case was adjourned till October 8, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application and the commencement of trial.
The EFCC said the case was triggered by an internal audit and petition by Access Bank Plc, which flagged suspicious transactions on the bank’s general ledger linked to the defendant’s accounts and related names.
The Commission reiterated its commitment to investigating and prosecuting financial crimes in the banking sector.