Disgrace: First Bank staff caught stealing fuel

Nigeria’s leading financial institution, First Bank of Nigeria is in the news for the wrong and dirty reason again. In formation reaching SHOWBIZPLUSng has it that the police recently arraigned two men for attempting to smuggle about 320 liters of stolen diesel from their office.

The incident occurred at the headquarters of the troubled and controversial bank on Marina, Lagos Island.

The suspects are Ashiru Suraju, 37, and Adeleke Oniyide, 43.

The police said Suraju worked as a driver with the bank, while Oniyide was the engineer in charge of servicing and repairing the bank’s generator whenever it developed a fault.

It was gathered that Oniyide was in the habit of allegedly stealing diesel from his employer while working on the generator. To facilitate his illegal activities, Suraju was said to always be on hand to transport the stolen products to a ready buyer, using the bank’s official vehicle which he drove.

Luck, however, ran out on them on Tuesday, November 25, 2014, after allegedly filling over six jerry cans with the product and loading it inside a Peugeot 307 saloon car with Lagos registration number KJA 461 BX. They were intercepted by the bank’s security officers while leaving the premises.

They were subsequently arrested and were arraigned on two counts of felony and theft, punishable under sections 409 and 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.

The charge reads in part, “That you, Ashiru Suraju and Adeleke Oniyide, on November 25, 2014, at about 5.45am, at First Bank Headquarters on Marina, Lagos, did conspire with another to commit felony to wit; stealing, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 409 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.

“That you did steal 320 litres of diesel, property of First Bank of Nigeria Limited and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 285 (1) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.”

The defendants pleaded not guilty.

They were admitted to bail by Mrs. A. T. Omoyele of the Lagos Magistrate’s Court, Tinubu, Lagos Island, in the sum of N50, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

“The sureties must be gainfully employed and show evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government,” she said.

The case was adjourned till January 12, 2015.