Four persons appeared before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday for allegedly stealing Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards with which they withdrew 7.1 million from the bank to an Opay accounts.
The defendants, all employed, are Nuredeem Junior, 73; Gbenga Olawole, 49; Amina Joseph, 39, a female; and Olarewaju Olagunagba, 39.
The defendants, who reside at Ijora area, Lagos, are being charged with conspiracy, stealing and fraud.
The prosecutor, ASP Raji Akeem, told the court that the offences were committed between June and October 2022 at Ijora and Victoria Island (VI), Lagos.
Akeem said that the defendants stole ATM cards belonging to Mr Temitope Suleiman and Miss Cordelia Otu and fraudulently transferred N7.1 million into different Opay accounts.
Akeem said that the complainants discovered that they received a debit alert when they never made any transfer and thereafter went to their various banks to lodge complaints.
The prosecutor also said that the case was reported at the police station and since them, the police have been looking for the account holders of those Opay accounts.
“They were later caught and arrested,” Akeem said.
The offences according to the prosecutor, contravened the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs B.O. Osunsanmi, granted them bail for N500,000 each with two sureties in like sum.
Osunsanmi also adjourned the case until Feb. 27 for mention.
