Rivers State: Access bank staff steals N36.1 million from Jephthah International school

South-South Zonal Director of EFCC, Ishaq Salihu, has paradedstaff of Access Bank, one Cyril Amaechi Ndakoji for allegedly defrauding Jephthah International School of N36.1 million.

Presenting the Access Bank Manager’s  cheque to the proprietor of the school, Mrs. Ifeoma Edith Chukwuogo,  in Port Harcourt, yesterday, he explained that the bank drafts were to compensate Jephthah International School, following the defrauding of the school by its Accounting Officer .

Salihu said, “The proprietress of Jephthah International School reported to her banker, Access Bank that some of her cheques cannot be cashed. In the evening of that day, Access Bank International, through their representative reported the matter to the EFCC to look into the matter.

“Investigators immediately swung into action, and the culprit, the principal suspect and his accomplices were arrested. The proceeds of the crime have been recovered substantially.

“We realised that he has built a one-three bedroom apartment and two two-bedroom apartments from the proceeds of his criminal activity. He is a marketer and Accounts Officer of Jephthah International School. He was literally robbing Peter to pay Paul. When the centre could not hold, the school realised that their cheques could not be honoured, reported back to the bank to find out what was happening.

“Earlier on, he had gotten one of his accomplices in the person of Oboma Chisom, who posed as a Customer Relations Officer of Access Bank to place a call to the Administrator of Jephthah International School, that she should tarry a while, that the bank is actually having some network problems and that her cheques will be honoured within a short period of time. Nothing could be further from the truth that the bank was never in any distress.

“To ensure that he completes his nefarious acts, he also got in touch with one Adebayo Aderin, who helped him in designing, printing letter-headed papers of another organisation where he is also the Account Officer. He took money from that organisation and now paid Jephthah’s proprietor as salary in honour of Jephthah International School.

“He was trying to balance two different accounts at the same time. We have gone for interim forfeiture in order to enable us seize the property he acquired with proceeds from the crime” he disclosed.