Ex-bank executive remanded for fraud

• Abiodun Sanni, former Polaris Bank manager in Iju, has been remanded in the Lagos State Special Offences Court for alleged fraud of over $100 million.

• The individual was remanded after being arraigned by the EFCC on 16 counts related to obtaining credit through false pretences, forgery, false document use, and stealing.

• The prosecution counsel, O. Adewunmi, revealed that Sanni committed the offenses in Lagos on or about February 24, 2020.

• The prosecution alleges that the defendant, as Polaris Bank Limited’s bank manager, obtained a N17m loan for Bamgbose Tayo Taofia, trading under the name Banut Haulage.

Abiodun Sanni, the former bank manager of Polaris Bank’s Iju branch, has been ordered to remain in a correctional facility by a Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos State, due to allegations of fraud exceeding one hundred million naira.

On Monday, he was remanded following his arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 16 counts related to obtaining credit through false pretenses, forgery, the use of fraudulent documents, and theft.

O. Adewunmi, the prosecution counsel for the EFCC, informed the court that Sanni allegedly committed these offenses around February 24, 2020, in Lagos.

The prosecution asserted that during his tenure as the bank manager at the Iju branch of Polaris Bank Limited, Sanni secured a loan of N17 million for an individual named Bamgbose Tayo Taofia, who was operating under the business name Banut Haulage. This loan was obtained under the false pretense that it was backed by collateral in the form of a fixed deposit account (number 0071572791) belonging to Yinkus Multibiz Ventures, valued at N111,540,380.52, with the consent of its owner, Mrs. Olayinka Hannah Aderibigbe.

Additionally, he is accused of unlawfully appropriating a fixed deposit account (number 0071277522) belonging to Atolagbe Joshua Tinuoye, which was valued at N15,011,441.00 (Fifteen Million, Eleven Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-One Naira) for his personal use.

Despite the charges, the defendant has pleaded not guilty.

The prosecutor requested that the court keep the defendant in the correctional facility until the trial date.

In a brief ruling, Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe postponed the case to March 6 and March 19, 2025, and instructed that any bail application be submitted prior to the trial dates.