A 24-year-old woman, Afolabi Ifeoluwa, was on Friday dragged before a Magistrate court in Osogbo, Osun State, for allegedly using an Automatic Teller Machine card stolen from her friend to withdraw the sum of N108,000 from her bank account.
According to the police prosecutor, Inspector Rasak Olayiwola, the victim, one Omoduyilemi Ouwafunmileyi, had kept her First Bank ATM card in her room where, Ifeoluwa, said to be her close friend, stole it.
The accused person was said to have withdrawn the sum of N108,000 at three different times at the First Bank branch located at Station Road area in Osogbo.
It was gathered that Ifeoluwa had been running around, pretending to be assisting the victim and the police in the search for the culprit who stole the ATM.
A printout of the transactions on the victim’s bank account was, however, said to have revealed Ifeoluwa’s picture and the amount she withdrew.
When the discovery was made, the victim was said to have fainted and collapsed in the banking hall but other customers later revived her.
Our correspondent gathered that the victim was recently duped of over N400,000 in her attempt to secure a Visa to travel to Germany.
The accused was also said to have removed the MTN sim card of the victim from her phone to prevent her from receiving the alert on the withdrawals.
The charge sheet obtained by our correspondent reads, “That you, Afolabi Ifeoluwa, on the 10th of July, 2016 at about 4.43pm, 4:44pm and 4:4pm at First Bank Station Road in Osogbo branch, did steal A.T.M card of one Omoduyilemi Oluwafunmileyi and used it to cash the sum of N108,000 without the consent of the owner.”
The prosecutor informed the court that the accused person committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 390 (9) of the Criminal Code, Cap 34, vol. II, Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2003.
But the accused person pleaded not guilty to the one count-charge preferred against her by the police.
Her counsel, Nejite Okobe, made an application for Ifeoluwa’s bail, assuring that the case would be settled amicably before the next adjourned date.
The Presiding Magistrate, Olusola Aluko, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in the same amount.
He ordered that the surety must furnish the court with evidence of tax payment.
Aluko adjourned the case till September 27 for report of settlement.
