The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has secured a five-year jail term against a bank worker, Janet Theophilus Danjuma, for swindling an investor of N22.35m through a sham investment scheme in Kano.
Justice S. M. Shuaibu of the Federal High Court, sitting in Kano, handed down the sentence on Monday after the defendant admitted to the charge preferred against her.
The court ruled that she should serve the term without the option of a fine.
Danjuma, an employee of Taj Bank Limited at its Nai’bawa Branch, had been docked on a lone count of obtaining money under false pretences.
The charge stated that in October 2024, within the court’s jurisdiction, she fraudulently collected N22,350,000 from one Wade Bamaiyi, claiming the money would be invested in the bank’s Current Account Savings Account programme.
Prosecutors maintained that the representation was false and deliberately made to deceive the victim.
The offence was said to contravene Section 1(1)(b) and be punishable under Section 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
While presenting the facts, prosecuting counsel Sadiq Huseini informed the court that the convict exploited her position in the bank and relied on the credibility of an existing financial product to gain the complainant’s trust.
He added that investigations revealed the entire sum was traced to her personal account.
Huseini urged the court to convict and sentence her in line with the law, stressing that such fraudulent conduct weakens public confidence in the banking sector.
In his verdict, Justice Shuaibu found her guilty based on her plea and ordered that she serve five years in a correctional facility.
The commission stated that its investigation uncovered that the purported investment opportunity never existed and that the funds were diverted for personal use.
