An Ikeja Special Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Monday sentenced a former Lagos State Education Director, Olawale Faleti, to two years and five months’ imprisonment for stealing ₦48.9 million from Access Bank Plc.
Justice Rahman Oshodi convicted Faleti, 64, on five counts of stealing after finding him guilty of charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
In his judgment, Oshodi said the offence was deliberate and sustained, noting that Faleti carried out repeated withdrawals despite knowing he had no authorisation to access the funds.
The judge added that the convict failed to show genuine remorse or fully accept responsibility for his actions.
Financial institutions are the lifeblood of our economy and public confidence in them must be preserved, Oshodi said, adding that Those who attempt to defraud or steal from banks must understand that severe consequences will follow.
While acknowledging Faleti as a first-time offender, the court said a custodial sentence was unavoidable.
The judge applied a 20 per cent reduction from the three-year maximum sentence, citing minimal restitution efforts as a mitigating factor.
Faleti was sentenced to two years and five months’ imprisonment on each of the five counts, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently.
The court directed that the sentence take effect from January 5, 2026, and ordered that Faleti’s biometric details and name be entered into the Lagos State Judiciary offenders’ registry.
After deducting ₦3 million already restituted, the court ordered Faleti to pay an outstanding ₦45.9 million to Access Bank Plc, directing the bank to notify the court upon full recovery of the funds.
Earlier, EFCC counsel, Mr Ahmed Dambuwa, told the court that Faleti dishonestly converted ₦48.9 million belonging to the bank by exploiting unauthorised access to an Access Bank credit card.
He said the card permitted withdrawals of not less than ₦43,000 per transaction, but a system glitch enabled Faleti to withdraw about ₦48 million during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
One of the charges stated that between July 2 and July 10, 2020, Faleti converted ₦12.6 million for personal use, while another alleged that between May 22 and July 1, 2020, he converted ₦6.9 million, all property of Access Bank Plc.
The offences were said to contravene Section 287(1)(a) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. (NAN)
