The Managing Director and CEO of Unity Bank Plc, Oluwarotomi Somefun. (Credit : Google)
By Abasifreke Effiong
For eight years now, the family of late John French Akpile, has struggled endlessly to get back the sum of N2.3million stolen from their late father’s account by staff of Unity Bank Plc, in Delta State.
Late John French Akpile who died in June 2013 left N2,334,831.56 in his current account (Account number : 0011021100) at Unity Bank, Enerhen branch in Uvwie local government of Delta state, Dr. Joseph Akpile, first son of the deceased said.
He said the money was transferred fraudulently in tranches from the account by staffers of Unity Bank Plc.
The late John French Akpile was a former staff of the Warri Refining and Petro-chemicals Company Limited,(WRPC) a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Warri.
Dr. Joseph who is the next of kin of the late John French Akpile, said his family reported the case to the Bank and the police when they noticed that money was being transferred from the account.
“I reported the theft to the bank and the bank said it will look into my complaint. I also reported to the police and the branch manager of the Bank was duly arrested. He (the bank manager) became apprehensive when the then DPO of Warri presented evidence showing where the money was transferred to him.”
“At the police station, the branch manager of the Bank claimed it was my father who authorised the transfers, however, he sought to see his lawyer when we showed him relevant documents to prove that my father had died three years earlier before the transactions were carried out.”
Late John French Akpile, former staff of Warri Refining and Petro-chemicals Company Limited.
Dr. Joseph said since then the Bank has taken different frantic steps to frustrate investigations into the theft and has also manipulated steps taken by his family to get the money back.
He said the family has suffered traumatic losses between 2016 to date which the money left in his father’s account would have helped prevent.
INVESTIGATIONS:
• UPDATED: Akwa Ibom Governor, other officials in multi-billion naira scandal
“My young sibling had to drop out of school and I lost the second to my youngest sibling who was a sickle cellar. You know someone with such condition needs regular medication, there was no money for medication at the time her health became critical and we could not access our dad’s money to take her to the hospital. These are some of the things we have suffered because of the wickedness of the bank.”
The account statement of the Late John French Akpile, obtained from Unity Bank shows that the balance on the account as of 16th December 2014 was N2,207,364.74.
The account however accrued ‘interest capitalisation’ of about N133,000 from December 2014 to April 2016.
Unity Bank statement of account of the late John French Akpile showing transactions on the account between December 2014 and July 2016.
In a bid to tamper with the account which had been dormant as of April 2016, a cash deposit of N2,000 was made into the account in the name of the Late John French Akpile on 31st May 2016.
After that, an MTN recharge voucher worth N4000 was purchased through the account on 29th June 2016.
After three transactions, the late Akpile’s account was allegedly reactivated by one Ruth Okafor, a front desk clerk at the Enerhen branch of Unity Bank to allow for withdrawals from the account.
After the reactivation, six transfers amounting to N2,334,831.56 million were made from the account to a Diamond Bank account number :0059558924, in Benin city, reportedly owned by one Sadiyu Yunusa, a manager at Unity Bank in Delta.
The late Akpile’s account statement show that N499,367.50, N500,367.50 and N1,105.00 were transferred from the account on 4/7/2016; and N500,367.50 was transferred on 7/7/2016.
A transfer of N330,367.50 was made on Friday 8th July 2016, and another N500,367.50 was transferred on 11th July 2016.
The family of the late Akpile’s said all the money transferred from their father’s account have been traced to Sadiyu Yunusa’s account in Diamond Bank.
READ :
• ITF centre for mass production of Made in Nigeria phone to be sited in Abuja
• I will vie for governorship of Akwa Ibom state in 2023 – Sen. Enang
Findings within the bank revealed that the transfers from the late John French Akpile’s account were authorised by one Mr. Nicolas Nosegbe Notayo, who was a manager at Unity Bank in Delta State at the time.
The Dune learnt that staffers of Unity Bank who were involved in the fraudulent transactions have frustrated investigations into the theft.
However, the then Divisional Police Officer in Warri, CSP Anietie Eyoh, who investigated the case refused to give full details of the case.
When contacted by this reporter, CSP Eyoh who is now serving in Nasarawa State said: “Yes, I investigated the case when I was the DPO of Warri. We arrested the manager of the bank who transferred the money from the Late Akpile’s account and when he discovered in the course of interrogation that the account owner whom he claimed authorised the transaction had died three years earlier, he went and requested that the case should be taken away from me. So, the Area command ordered that I transfer the case to them, I did. Afterwards, the case was sent back to my Division but it was around when I was transferred to another Division.”
CSP Eyoh declined further comment on the case saying that he is no longer within the jurisdiction where the fraud was committed.
