Ex-Bank boss bags 19 years imprisonment over N29m fraud

A former acting managing director of Century Microfinance Bank Limited, Olise Robinson, was yesterday convicted and sentenced to a total of 19 years imprisonment for stealing N29 million belonging to the bank.

He was handed down the jail terms by Justice Okon Abang, at the Federal high court, Lagos.

He was found guilty of five counts charge of stealing, forgery of signature and uttering of documents, which he used in carrying out the fraudulent act and criminal breach of public trust.

Police's Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Alagbon-Ikoyi, Lagos pressed the charge against him.

The convict was said to have committed the fraudulent act while acting as the bank's head between June 2008 to November 2009.

During the trial, the prosecution led by Chukwu Agwu called four witnesses who testified against the convict and tendered several exhibits.

The convict did not call any witness.

Convicting the former bank chief, Justice Abang said: "The defendant failed to give evidence that he didn't received the amount and no evidence from him that he invested the money in Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Treasure Bill.

"The prosecution has been able to sufficiently prove the essential ingredients of the allegations against the defendant. Consequently, I found the defendant guilty of all the counts of the charge".

Following the verdict, counsel to the convict, Mr. Oyelola Damilola, in his allocutus, pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy in sentencing his client, as he is the only breadwinner of his young family.

Oyelola said the convict is a first time offender, who has no previous criminal record and that he has been remorseful of his act.

Responding, the prosecutor, Mr. Agwu, urged the court to discountenance the convict's counsel plea, as the convict never show any sign of remorsefulness while the trial lasted.

After listening to the submissions of the counsel, Justice Abang said: "I have considered the allocutus made by the convict's counsel. This is a case that the convict is a harden criminal that has no human sympathy. He was entrusted with investors monies, he inflicted pains on the investors who lodged their monies in his bank while he fraudulently moved the money to his account in Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB).

"He is an avenger of evil, he is a fraudulent and lawless person. He planted thorns, he is not expected to gather flowers. Drastic situation deserves drastic solution.

"The convict is hereby sentence to seven years in count one, three years in count two, three years in count three, three years in count four and three years in count five. The terms of the sentence are to run concurrently".

In the charge, the convict was said to have converted the sum of N5 million which was meant to buy CBN's Treasury Bill by the bank.

He was also said to have fraudulently withdrew the sum of N100, 000, for 15 months, which he claimed was security vote without any approval and which he was unable to account for.

He was also said to have fraudulently diverted the sum of N9 million of different investors of the bank to his private account with GTB. He was also accused of forging several documents of the bank to cover up his heinous crime.

The offences according to the prosecution are contrary to Sections 390(6), 463 and 468, of the Criminal Code Cap C 38, Vol. 4 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2008 and punishable under section 467 of the same Act.