A Relief Teller at Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Solomon Stephen Ufayo, has pleaded guilty to cybercrime involving the fraudulent diversion of N2.4 million from a customer's account into his personal Opay wallet.
Ufayo admitted guilt before Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday, following his arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge of cybercrime-related fraud.
According to EFCC prosecutor Abdulhamid L. Tukur, the charge stemmed from activities between March 10 and 28, 2025, during which Ufayo impersonated a customer, Miss Omowunmi Ajoke Ogunfodunrin, to orchestrate false deposits and unauthorised withdrawals from her Ecobank account.
The prosecution’s witness, EFCC operative David Ngale Gajere, testified that the accused used forged withdrawal slips to transfer a total of N2,404,000 from the victim’s account to his own.
Gajere further told the court that Ufayo had confessed to the crime in a written statement and had issued a bank draft for full restitution of the stolen funds.
Supporting documents, including the defendant’s confession, forged bank slips, and the certified true copy of the restitution draft, were tendered by the prosecution and admitted into evidence by the court.
The charge against Ufayo reads in part: “That you, Solomon Stephen Ufayo, between the 10th to the 28th day of March, 2025, in Lagos, fraudulently represented yourself as Ogunfodunrin Omowunmi Ajoke, by posting false deposit and withdrawal tellers on her Ecobank account, with intent to gain advantage for yourself.”
The offence is in violation of Section 22(2)(b)(i) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition and Prevention etc) Act, 2015, and punishable under Section 22(2)(b) of the same law.
Justice Bogoro adjourned the matter until June 6, 2025, for judgment and ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending sentencing.
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