Female Banker Lands In Jail For Helping ‘Yahoo Boy’ Receive Money

One week after a female banker in Port Harcourt, Gladys Udia was arraigned for sending a customer’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) details to robbers and subsequently duping the victim, another female banker, 51 year-old Yetunde Iyabo Adewunmi has bagged a one year jail sentence for conspiracy, aiding and abating fraud.

Adewunmi was on Tuesday, October 8, convicted of the one-count amended charge instituted against her by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court 2, sitting in Osogbo, Osun State.

According to a statement posted on the Facebook page of the EFCC, investigation conducted by officials of the anti-graft agency had revealed that Adewunmi used her position as a staffer of a new generation bank in Ile Ife, Osun state to forge two identity cards for one Abayomi Samuel Onalaja, an internet fraudster (Yahoo Yahoo) to enable him cash two Western Union transactions received from his foreign victims.

The statement read in part: “She was said to have benefited N236, 736 (Two Hundred and Thirty Six, Seven Hundred and Thirty Six Naira) from the illegal dealings.

“Owing to the findings, the commission earlier filed against her a five-count charge bordering on money laundering, but later amended it to one-count after agreeing to a plea bargain option with her.

“The amended charge professed her guilty of an offence contrary to Section 27(2) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act, 2015,” it added.

She pleaded guilty to the charge and was accordingly convicted.

The prosecution counsel Shamusuddeen Bashir had earlier prayed the court to accept the conditions of the plea bargain which included restitution of the proceeds of the crime, and as well confirmed that the commission had indeed received the sum.

Recall that Udia was on October 2 arraigned by the EFCC before Justice M.L Abubakar of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on a seven-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing, forgery and alteration to the tune of N3, 476,700.00(Three Million Four Hundred and Seventy Six Thousand, Seven Hundred Naira only)

According to the commission, Udia and Dominic Okon had between the 24th and 31st of July stolen the money whilst she was a staff of the bank.

One of the counts read: “That you Gladys Udia and Dominic Okon a.k.a Paul (now at large) between the 24th and 31st of July, 2019, at Port Harcourt, Rivers State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, whilst you were staff of Union Bank Plc stole the sum of (N3,434,000,00) Three Million, Four Hundred and Thirty Four Thousand Naira only, property of one Benjamin Akerele and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 390 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap. C 38 of the Revised Edition (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria) 2007 read together with Section 1 (1) (b) of the Failed Banks (Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Banks Act, Cap B3 of the Revised Edition (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria)2007.”

The EFCC statement continued: “Investigation carried out by the bank’s internal affairs unit revealed that the principal suspect, Gladys Udia, a staff of the Ikwerre Road Branch in Port Harcourt was captured by the bank’s CCTV Camera taking photographs of the customer’s BVN printout page with her mobile phone and sent same to her accomplices, who subsequently carried out a limit enhancement on the customer’s account at the Bori branch, thereby granting them access to the account.”