Court Remands Polaris Bank Manager in Custody for N15m Fraud
Justice Abike-Fadipe of a Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has remanded Abiodun Sanni, the former bank manager of the Iju Branch of Polaris Bank Limited, in the custody of the Correctional Center over allegations of fraud totalling N15,011,441.00.
Abiodun was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 16 counts, which included obtaining credit by false pretences, forgery, use of false documents, and stealing.
According to some of the charges, it is alleged that on or about February 24, 2020, in Lagos, Abiodun Sanni, while serving as the Bank Manager of the Iju branch of Polaris Bank Limited, obtained a loan of N17,000,000.00 for Bamgbose Tayo Taofia, who was trading under the name of Banut Haulage.
He allegedly did so by falsely claiming that the loan was backed by collateral in the form of a fixed deposit account (number withheld) worth N2,540,380.52, which belonged to Yinkus Multibiz Ventures and for which the owner, Mrs Aderibigbe Olayinka Hannah, had supposedly consented to the use of as collateral.
The defendant is also accused of dishonestly converting another fixed deposit account of Polaris Bank Limited (number withheld) worth N15,011,441.00, belonging to Atolagbe Joshua Tinuoye.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The prosecutor, Adewunmi, requested that the court remand the defendant pending the trial date. “My Lord, we intend to call ten witnesses regarding this case, and we urge the court to remand the defendant in custody,” said the prosecutor.
In response, the defence counsel, Osho Oludoshu, filed a bail application.
Justice Abike-Fadipe ruled that the bail application should be submitted to the court before the trial date and adjourned the case, setting new dates for March 6 and March 19, 2025.
She stated, “I remand the defendant at the correctional centre, and he is entitled to submit a bail application before his trial date.”
