6 CBN Chiefs remanded on grounds of 8bn naira fraud scheme.

JUSTICE Ayo Emmanuel of a Federal High Court, Ibadan, on Tuesday remanded six officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria arraigned for stealing and circulating mutilated Naira notes meant for destruction by the apex bank.

The six — Patience Okoro, Afolabi Johnson, Ilori Sunday, Kolawole Babalola, Olaniran Adeola and Fatai Yusuf — were arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, charged for conspiracy, diversion and stealing of mutilated naira notes worth N8bn.

They were also accused of replacing the mutilated currencies with cut-to-size newspapers and converting the money to their personal use.

Others charged alongside the CBN officials were Kayode Philips, Salami Ibrahim and Odiah Emmanuel. They were charged with conspiracy with other officials of CBN and other banks.

Two others-Roy Akinsiku and O. Sobowale-were said to be at large.

Counsels for the accused persons made oral applications for bail but the judge refused the applications and ordered that the accused be remanded in the EFCC office or at the Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku Police Division, Ibadan.

Justice Emmanuel has also fixed Tuesday, June 9, 2015 for argument of the written bail applications and fixed July 6 and 7, 2015 for the commencement of trial.

The CBN had said that some of its official had been investigated and found to have compromised their integrity by stealing and circulating mutilated currency billed for destruction.

“During a routine internal audit of the bank’s cash destruction activities in September 2014, the CBN Briquetting Panel comprising senior bank staff from different branches noticed some anomalies at the Ibadan branch, and immediately reported this to the bank’s management. On further investigation ordered by the governor, it was discovered that a systematic scheme, which has been on for several years, was being run in which mutilated higher denomination notes originally meant for destruction were swapped with lower denomination currencies,” the apex bank had said in a statement.
-Punch