A 29 year-old warder with the old Abeokuta Prisons, Ibara, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Joseph Emmanuel is presently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for allegedly assisting a prison inmate in carrying out fraudulent financial transactions, as well as using the name and documents of an illiterate taxi driver, to open a First Bank account for the inmate.
The suspect allegedly assisted the inmate whom he called ‘Ora’ to open the account, using the name of one taxi driver in his neighbourhood called Monsuru Ogunsina Adeogun”. He took the step after he rejected the entreaties of the inmate to avail him of his account number.
Having made a promise to help the inmate with an account number, Emmanuel threw caution and his work ethics to the wind and went ahead to open an account, in the name of Adeogun, a father of four.
Investigations showed that, after filling out the account opening documents and observing all account opening formalities Emmanuel received the withdrawal booklet and an ATM card to the account. He handed the withdrawal booklet to Adeogun and according to him, “I took the ATM card to Ora (the inmate) and I helped him make three withdrawals from the account, until the fourth time when the ATM machine rejected the card and I called Adeogun to bring the withdrawal booklet, and it was that Tuesday (March 5, 2014) that Adeogun was arrested at the bank and I came down to EFCC to see him the following day and I was also detained for my involvement”.
During investigation, it was gathered that the same inmate had previously convinced one Ogunnariwo Mary, a student of Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu Ode, to help him open an account with her name. According to Mary, “I went to the Abeokuta prisons to seek for an Industrial Attachment placement, but was told that I have to go to the Head Office, but before I could leave, an inmate who introduced himself as ‘Timilehin’ approached me and pleaded with me to help him open an account for him with my name so that I can help him withdraw money whenever his family pays in money into the account”.
She said she went ahead to open the account in her name, and helped the inmate to make several withdrawals, which were always collected by different men who managed to show up each time she got a call from the inmate to go and make a withdrawal.
This, she said, happened between December 2013 and March 5, 2014, when she was also arrested because the ATM machine rejected the card and she went into the banking hall to lodge a complaint and to make the withdrawal with a withdrawal slip.
Both Adeogun and Mary Ogunnariwo were arrested the same day and at the same bank and brought to the office of the EFCC together.
The suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.
