A 29-year-old banker, Dolapo Fakayi, was on Friday arraigned before a Life Camp Chief Magistrates’ Court in Abuja for allegedly swindling a customer of 800 dollars under the pretext of opening a domiciliary account.
Mr Fakayi, who resides at Bright School area in Loko, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, was charged by the police with criminal conspiracy and cheating.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to him in court.
The prosecutor, Charity Nwachukwu, told the court that the case was reported to the Gwarinpa Police Station on February 8 by Cynthia Anyanwu, a customer service manager at United Bank for Africa (UBA), Gwarinpa branch, Abuja.
According to the prosecutor, the defendant is an employee of the bank and works in its direct sales department.
She explained that Mr Fakayi allegedly collected 800 dollars from a customer, Amina Sdidu, for the purpose of opening a dollar (domiciliary) account for her with the bank.
Mrs Nwachukwu told the court that instead of carrying out the transaction as requested, the defendant allegedly failed to open the account and converted the money to his personal use.
“The defendant dishonestly collected the sum of 800 dollars from the customer with the promise of opening a domiciliary account but refused to do so and converted the money for his personal use,” the prosecutor said.
She further informed the court that during police investigation, the defendant allegedly made a confessional statement admitting to the offence.
According to her, the alleged acts contravene Sections 312 and 322 of the Penal Code, which deal with cheating and related offences.
After listening to the submissions, the presiding magistrate, Musa Jobbo, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N500,000 with one surety in like sum.
Mr Jobbo ruled that the surety must reside within the court’s jurisdiction and provide a reliable means of identification.
The magistrate subsequently adjourned the case to March 11 for further hearing.