Court Jails Former Lagos Director For Stealing N48.9m From Bank

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has convicted and sentenced a 64-year-old former Lagos State Education director, Olawale Feliti, to two years and five months in prison for stealing N48,992,271.73 from Access Bank.

Justice Oshodi jailed the convict after he found him guilty of a five-count charge of theft brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC prosecutor, Ahmed Dambuwa, had earlier told the court that the convict had dishonestly converted money belonging to Access Bank Plc for personal use.

Dambuwa had also claimed that the convict, during the 2020 pandemic, unlawfully withdrew over N48 million using an Access Bank credit card, having previously been able to withdraw at least N43,000 per transaction.

He maintained that the offences violate section 287 1(1)(a) of the Lagos State Criminal Laws 2015.

In his judgment, Justice Oshodi held that Feliti’s conduct is calculated, noting that he made multiple withdrawals without authorisation and showed no remorse.

The judge therefore sentenced the convict to 2 years and 5 months in prison on the five-count charge.

After deducting the N3 million restitution he had already refunded, the court ordered the convict to return N45,991,271.73 to the complainant.

The judge ruled that Feliti could avoid imprisonment if he fully restates the stolen amount, Access Bank confirms this in writing to the court, and he pays a N5 million fine.

Otherwise, his sentence is scheduled to begin on January 5, 2026, in a maximum-security facility.

Justice Oshodi also ordered that the name of the convict should be registered in the Lagos State Offenders Registry.