COURT JAILS TWO EX-BANKERS OVER DIVERSION OF PENSIONERS’ N10.3M IN ENUGU
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
The Enugu State High Court sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu, has sentenced two former bank employees, Sani Endurance Aferokhe and Hillary Odo, to imprisonment for criminally diverting ₦10.3 million belonging to pensioners.
The conviction was secured by the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice A. O. Onovo.
The convicts, former staff of Intercontinental Bank Plc, now Access Bank Plc, were arraigned on January 18, 2016, on a 15-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery and stealing. The charges stemmed from the unlawful diversion of funds from customers’ accounts without their consent.
According to the EFCC, the duo conspired to reactivate dormant accounts belonging to pensioners and subsequently diverted the funds for personal use. One of the charges stated that on November 21, 2012, the defendants stole ₦4.44 million from an account belonging to Udekwu F. A. O, while another count revealed that they also stole ₦2.11 million from an account belonging to Onuora George in October 2012.
The offences were said to be contrary to Section 459(a) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 30, Laws of Enugu State, 2004. The defendants pleaded not guilty, leading to a full trial.
During the trial, the EFCC, through its counsel, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE II Michael Ikechukwu Ani, presented five witnesses and tendered several documentary exhibits to substantiate the case.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, December 22, 2025, Justice Onovo dismissed counts six and nine, but convicted Hillary Odo on counts four and seven, while Sani Endurance Aferokhe was convicted on counts one, two, three, five, eight, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen and fifteen.
The court sentenced Odo to five years’ imprisonment on each of counts four and seven, with an option of a ₦100,000 fine on each count. Aferokhe was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on each of the counts he was convicted on, except count fifteen, for which he received a three-year jail term, all with an option of a ₦100,000 fine per count.
The EFCC said the judgment underscores its resolve to combat financial crimes and protect the interests of vulnerable Nigerians, particularly pensioners, from fraudulent practices within the banking sector.
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