Panic at Guaranty Trust Bank as EFCC arraigns staff for stealing $480,000 belonging to a senator

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a staff of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), Abdulrahman Muhammed at an Abuja High Court for allegedly stealing the sum of $480,000 belonging to Mc Nelson Medicals Limited, a company owned by Senator Uche Nwole.
SHOWBIZPLUS gathered that upon his arraignment on a - one count charge of stealing and criminal breach of trust, to which he pleaded not guilty, Muhammed was granted bail in the sum of N2 Million with two sureties in like sum who must have reasonable means of livelihood and reside within the jurisdiction of the court.
The one-count amended charge filed by the prosecution counsel, Jijah H. Bwala of the EFCC reads:
“That you, Abdulrahman Muhammed [M], being a staff of Guaranty Trust Bank PLC, and an Account Officer of Account No: 0025147330, on or about the 20th day of October, 2011, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, dishonestly misappropriated the sum of $480.000 (Four Hundred and eighty Thousand USD) belonging to Hon. Uche Nwole (MD/CEO of Mc Nelson Medicals Limited) and thereby committed an offence  punishable under section 311 and 315 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria [Abuja] 1990.

Following the banker’s plea, his counsel, R.A. Sadiq moved an application for his bail in “liberal terms”, which was not opposed to by the prosecution counsel.
Sadiq had specifically prayed the court to grant his client bail on liberal terms stating that the accused has been on administrative bail of the EFCC since 2012 and had not defaulted in any of the conditions attached to his bail.
In admitting to bail, Justice C. N. Orji held that she was satisfied that the accused would not do anything to abscond.
In a letter of complaint addressed to the Chairman of the EFCC dated March 15th, 2012, counsel to the complainant, Chief Chukwuma Ekomaru (SAN) stated that on October 21, 2011, his client handed over one million United States Dollars inside the banking hall to Abdulrahman Muhammed the account officer in GTB Plc, for inflow into their company’s domiciliary account.
The said accounting officer Abdulrahman Mohammed instead of paying the money into the account told his client that he could not pay one million Dollars at once into the account and advised that he would bring in the bank bureau de change operators to separate the one million Dollars into various currencies.
“Our client believed him and allowed him to take possession of the money. Consequently, various foreign currency deposits slips were issued to our client by the Abdulrahman, who was assigned to our client as an Account officer by Guaranty Trust Bank PLC.”
However, “our client discovered on Friday February 24, 2012 that his request for one hundred thousand US Dollars could not be honoured by the bank and it was then that further inquiries revealed that Abdulrahman was issuing foreign currency deposits slips of the bank to our client without actually posting monies received from our client into his Account. Whereas our client believing that his monies were safely deposited in his account.”
“On February 27, 2012, we wrote the bank for a reconciliation of account so as to determine the actual amount that was missing and it revealed that almost five hundred thousand United States Dollars of our client was stolen by the bank.
The victim of the fraud is however in possession of some of the yellow copies of the foreign currency deposits slips issued to him in the hand writing of Abdulrahman to support his case.
The court adjourned the matter till May, 6, 2014 for hearing.