A serving accountant with the Oyo State Health Management Board, Wahab Olabanji, has been sentenced to a cumulative jail term of 15 years for defrauding unsuspecting job seekers under the guise of securing them employment.
Olabanji, who held the position of Chief Executive Officer (Accounts), Grade Level 14, was found guilty of collecting various sums of money from applicants who sought placement in the state’s Hospital Management Board and the Teaching Service Commission.
The Chairman of the Oyo State Anti-Corruption Agency (OYACA), Justice Eni Esan (retd.), disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Ibadan.
According to her, the convict was arraigned on a 30-count charge bordering on official corruption, obtaining money under false pretence, and criminal conversion. After a 17-month-long trial, the court on Friday, August 1, 2025, found him guilty on all counts.
“The man was convicted on a 30-count charge of official corruption, obtaining money under false pretence, and conversion,” Esan said. “He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment with an option of N50,000 fine on each count.”
In addition to the jail term and fines, the court ordered Olabanji to refund all monies he fraudulently collected from his victims within three months.
Justice Esan reiterated the agency’s unwavering commitment to rooting out corruption in Oyo State’s public service, warning that public officers who engage in fraudulent practices would face the full weight of the law.