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Ex-banker jailed 12 years over N8bn currency scam

Ademola Oni

Ademola Oni

A former banker with Wema Bank Nigeria Plc, Ademola Oni was on Thursday October 6, 2016 convicted and sentenced to twelve years imprisonment for conspiracy and money laundering by Justice Joyce Abudmalik of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The court also ruled that he forfeits all his properties and cash in various banks as proceeds of crime.

Among properties forfeited by the convict are: an empty plot of land fenced with black gate located along the road beside Secam church, Providence Estate, Sango Eleyele Expressway, Ibadan; a Honda Accord Car, 2014 model, with registration number AGL 12 CX; another empty plot of land located at Alao Akala Estate, along Akubu Ojuirin, near Apostolic Church, Ikolaba, Ibadan; a storey building located at Aminu Olaniran Street, Ikolaba behind the Apostolic church, Ikolaba Assembly, Ikolaba, Ibadan; three acres of land at Okuna Village, Along Akufo Village, by Fumakson filling station, Ido Local Government Area, Ibadan; an empty plot of land at No. 16 Awolowo Avenue, Old Bodija, Ibadan; a storey building located at No. 16 Awolowo Avenue, Old Badija, Ibadan and a borehole machine.

He is also to forfeit several sums in bank accounts. They include the sum of N43,259, 441.22 in a fixed deposit account with FCMB, N70,614.60 in the name of ‘De-City-Life enterprise with account No. 22749019 also domiciled with FCMB, another N7,189.22 in the name of Oni Iyabo Mary in the same bank and N966,788.81 in the First Bank account of Ezomal Ventures, among others.

The journey to prison started for Ademola when he was arraigned alongside six former officials of the CBN and fifteen others from different commercial banks in an alleged case of conspiracy and money laundering.

The bankers allegedly conspire to steal and conceal mutilated and defaced local currency amounting to eight billion naira (N8bn) from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Ademola, who was the 4th defendant in the matter, however, entered into a plea bargain with the prosecution, and pleaded guilty to an amended charge.

At the resumed hearing Thursday 6th, October, the prosecuting counsel, Adeniyi Adebisi presented the perfected agreement and an amended charge to the court against him. Ademola pleaded guilty to 5 of the 24-count amended charge.

Justice Abudmalik convicted him and sentenced him to two and half years on each of the five counts. The sentences are to run concurrently.

One of the Count reads that you, Oni Ademola Dolapo, between 2010 and May 2011 in Ibadan, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did collaborate with Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Muniru Adeola, Toogun Kayode Philip, Afolabi Esther Olunike, Ademola Ebenezer Adewale and Omotosho Abimbola to conceal the genuine nature of an aggregate sum of N1, 391,280,190.00 (One billion, three hundred and ninety one million, Two hundred and eighty thousand, one hundred and ninety naira) which sum was illegally derived from the Central Bank of Nigeria, to wit: by inducing the Central Bank of Nigeria to deliver the said sum to Wema Bank Plc as against the actual sum of N338, 719, 810. 00 (Three hundred and Twenty eight million, seven hundred and nineteen thousand, eight hundred and ten naira) and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 14 (1) (b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004.

The trial of the other defendants in the charge continues.

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