Ikeja Special Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Monday sentenced a former Lagos State Education Director, Olawale Faleti, to two years and five months’ imprisonment for stealing N48.9 million from Access Bank.
Justice Rahman Oshodi convicted Faleti, 64, on five counts of stealing, after finding him guilty of charges brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Delivering judgment, Oshodi held that Faleti’s actions were calculated, noting that he made repeated withdrawals despite knowing he lacked authorisation.
The judge said the convict showed no genuine remorse and failed to fully accept responsibility for his criminal conduct.
He said financial institutions are the lifeblood of the economy and that public confidence in them must be maintained.
According to the judge, those who seek to defraud or steal from financial institutions must know they will face severe consequences.
Taking all circumstances into account, including aggravating and mitigating factors, Oshodi said a custodial sentence was necessary and appropriate.
He said he applied a 20 per cent discount from the three-year maximum sentence, recognising Faleti’s status as a first-time offender and his minimal restitution efforts.
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The court sentenced Faleti to two years and five months’ imprisonment on each of the five counts and ordered that the sentences should run concurrently.
Oshodi further ordered that Faleti’s biometric details be registered in the Lagos State Judiciary offenders’ database.
After deducting N3 million already restituted, the court ordered Faleti to pay an additional N45.9 million to Access Bank Plc and directed the bank to notify the court upon full restitution.
The court also ordered that Faleti’s sentence begin on January 5 and that his name be entered in the Lagos State Offenders’ Registry.
Earlier, EFCC counsel, Ahmed Dambuwa, told the court that Faleti dishonestly converted N48.9 million belonging to Access Bank.
Dambuwa said Faleti had access to an Access Bank credit card permitting withdrawals of not less than N43,000 per transaction.
He added that Faleti exploited unauthorised access caused by a system glitch to withdraw about N48 million during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
One charge stated that between July 2 and July 10, 2020, Faleti converted N12.6 million, property of Access Bank Plc, for personal use.
Another charge said that between May 22 and July 1, 2020, Faleti converted N6.9 million belonging to Access Bank Plc.
The EFCC said the offences contravened Section 287, subsection 1, paragraph a, of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
NAN
