Magistrate O.A Daodu has arraigned an employee of a Microfinance bank, Victor Owunwanne, for allegedly defrauding his employer of about Twenty million naira.
He was arraigned before an Ogudu Magistrate’s Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, according to NAN.
He was charged to court by the police with obtaining money under false pretence, stealing and forgery.
Upon arraignment, he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
Magistrate Daodu subsequently admitted him to bail in N150,000 with two sureties with like sum.
The magistrate also ordered that the sureties must be gainfully employed, one of them being a blood relative.
The sureties should also show evidence of two years of tax payments to the Lagos State Government as part of the bail conditions.
She then adjourned the case until March 14 for mention.
Arguments
At the court session today, The Prosecution Counsel, Insp. Sunday, Bassey told the court that the defendant committed the offence last October 2022 at Infinity Microfinance Bank, Ikorodu Road, Kosofe, Mile 2, Lagos.
He alleged that the defendant, a bank loan officer at that time, had fraudulently collected money from a customer accumulating to N130,000 without the knowledge of the bank.
He said, “The money was paid to the defendant’s account, and he further verified the customer’s house and company for a prospective loan.
“The defendant came back and presented false information and documents to mislead the management of the bank to give out a loan of N20 million to a customer called Chukwuka, owner of Rhinobay Energy, now at large.
“After collecting the loan, the customer declined upon the due payment date for the loan refund.
“The defendant was therefore called upon to show the bank manager the location of the customer who refused to pay the loan, but he couldn’t”, the prosecutor told the court.”
He said he was arrested after the customer could not be traced, noting that the offences contravened the provisions of sections 287, 315(1)(b) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
