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Justice Abiodun Adesodun of the Ekiti State High Court, on a Thursday sentenced a former cashier officer with Fidelity Bank, Ado Ekiti branch, Michael Adedayo Ihinolurinjon to 10 years in prison for stealing money from the bank’s vault and converting customers deposits to his personal use.
Ihinolurinjon was found guilty on a two-count charge of stealing in a criminal case filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), Ibadan zonal office.
According to the charge sheet, the offence was contrary to Section 390 (g) of the Criminal Code Laws Cap 16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.
The bank had written a petition to the EFCC, alleging that while still a staff, Ihinolurinjon stole a sum of N8,891,000.00 from its vault and also failed to remit a total of N7,251,600 he collected from customers to the bank’s account.
“Our preliminary review showed that Michael fraudulently diverted the sums of N8,891,000.00 and N7,251,600.00 of the branch vault and customers’ cash respectively. The cash deposit of N7,251,600.00 received by Michael from various customers between 1/9/16 and 19/9/16 were neither posted to their respective accounts nor the cash accounted for,” the bank stated in its petition dated October 17, 2016.
The bank also accused Ihinolurinjon of absconding from duty “upon sighting one of the customers whose cash he had fraudulently diverted.”
After receiving the petition, the commission lodged a full scale investigation, after which the accused was originally slammed with a one-count charge of obtaining through false pretence in 2017.
However, the charge was later amended to a two-count, bordering on stealing upon which he was re-arraigned on June 24, 2019.
The commission through its lawyer, Abdulrasheed Lanre Suleman, called nine witnesses and also tendered several exhibits during Ihinolurinjon’s trial.
After listening to arguments of both parties, Justice Adesodun found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to five years imprisonment on each of the two counts. The sentencing, he held would run concurrently.
The court, however, gave the convict an option of fine of N100,000 on each of the counts and also ordered him to pay a sum of N7,000,000 to Fidelity Bank plc.