Abiodun Sanni, the former bank manager of Polaris Bank’s Iju branch, has been placed under remand in the correctional facility by the Lagos State Special Offenses Court in Ikeja due to allegations of fraud totaling more than one hundred million dollars.
Following his arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 16 counts pertaining to obtaining credit through false pretenses, forgery, use of false documents, and theft, he was placed under remand on Monday.
The EFCC’s prosecution counsel, O. Adewunmi, disclosed to the court that Sanni committed the offences on or about February 24, 2020, in Lagos.
According to the prosecution, the defendant obtained credit in the form of a loan of N17 million for a businessman named Bamgbose Tayo Taofia who operated under the name and style of Banut Haulage while serving as the bank manager of the lju branch of Polaris Bank Limited.
He claimed that the funds were acquired from Polaris Bank Limited under the false pretense that Yinkus Multibiz Ventures’ fixed deposit account number 0071572791, valued at N111,540,380.52, served as collateral for the loan and that the owner, Mrs. Olayinka Hannah Aderibigbe, had given her consent.
Additionally, he was accused of dishonestly transferring N15, 011,441.00 (Fifteen Million, Eleven Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-One Naira) from Atolagbe Joshua Tinuoye’s Polaris Bank Limited fixed deposit account number 0071277522 to his own use.
However, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him.
The prosecution requested that the defendant be placed under remand at the correctional facility until the date of his trial.
In a short ruling, Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe adjourned the case to the 6th and 19th of March 2025, and ordered that the bail application should be submitted to the court before the date of trial.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
