2:23:00 AM
The police prosecutor, Corporal Chinedu Njoku,
disagreed, yesterday, with the police report
over the alleged theft of N800,000 from
Ecobank preferred against one Edadu Collins,
insisting that the amount involved was N5.5
million, after proper investigation was carried
out.
The defendant, Collins, is facing a two-count
charge of stealing preferred against him by the
police. The defendant, who pleaded not guilty,
is an aluminium fabricator, who said he knew
nothing about the bank issue.
Corporal Njoku told the court that the
defendant committed the alleged offences
between January to March 2011 and is
punishable under Sections 409 and 285 of the
Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
He told the court that N800,000 was
transferred to a wrong account, which
happened to be the defendant’s and he did not
deem it necessary to report to the bank, rather
he went ahead and withdrew the money.
He further told the court that the actual
amount was N5.5 million, when it was
investigated. The defendant told the court that
his account had been giving him problem and
that he had to stop using it.
According to Collins, “I tried to renew the
account, but it proved abortive. I thought it
was the network but after a long while, the
bank could not solve the problem and I had to
abandon the account. “The bank attendant told
me to pay some money into the account so
that it can be rectified.
The attendant later asked me to wait.” The
defendant further told the court that he asked
the attendant several times to know what was
happening, “I was just told to calm down. By
7p.m., some men came and asked me to
follow them.
I asked where we were going, but none
responded. “I realised later that we were at the
police station and there, they started asking
me for the money.” Collins told the policemen
that he had not been using the account for a
long time, but they got evidence that he
withdrew from his account.
Magistrate O. Olagbende granted him
N100,000 bail with two sureties in like sum.
