Palliative Fraud: Court Jails Two Access Bank Officials Over N7.8m Welfare Scam

​In a shocking breach of financial trust that strikes directly at the heart of Nigeria’s welfare infrastructure, the systemic siphon of funds meant for the country’s most vulnerable citizens has met its legal match. ValidViewNetwork reports that the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has successfully dismantled a fraudulent inside ring operated by two corporate gatekeepers. The anti-graft agency successfully secured the conviction and sentencing of Obadofin Daniel Bamise and Hadiza Oyiza Yakubu before Justice A.A. Bello of the Kaduna State High Court sitting in Kaduna for corporate theft.

​The convicts, both former officials of a prominent new generation bank, Access Bank Plc, chose to leverage their insider positions to divert financial aid away from vulnerable citizens. They were prosecuted on separate one-count charges of theft.

​Providing a direct look into the legal breakdown of the crime, the prosecution presented the explicit charges leveled against the first convict. Obadofin’s charge reads:

​”That you, Obadofin Bamise Daniel sometime between the 5th of November, 2024 and 23rd of January, 2025 in Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being an employee of Access Bank Plc did in your capacity as an employee committed theft in the sum of N433,000.00 (Four Hundred and Thirty-Three Thousand Naira only) being property in possession of Access Bank Plc and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 274 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017 and punishable under same Law.”

​Similarly, the court laid bare the charge against the second official, revealing an identical pattern of insider abuse. That of Yakubu reads:

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​”That you, Hadiza Oyiza Yakubu sometimes between the 5th of November, 2024 and 23rd of January, 2025 in Kaduna, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while being an employee of Access Bank Plc did in your capacity as an employee committed theft in the sum of N806,000.00 (Eight Hundred and Six Thousand, Eight Hundred Naira only) being property in possession of Access Bank Plc and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 274 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017 and punishable under same Law.”

​Faced with the overwhelming evidence gathered during the EFCC investigation, both defendants entered a plea of “guilty,” choosing not to prolong the trial. Following their admission of guilt, the prosecution counsel, Moses Arumemi, swiftly urged the court to convict and sentence them in strict accordance with the provisions of the law. ValidViewNetwork reports that Justice Bello, thereafter, convicted and sentenced both of them to seven years imprisonment each or to pay a fine of N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) respectively.

​Deep-dive forensic investigations conducted by the EFCC exposed the chilling scale of the operation, revealing that this was not a simple clerical error but a calculated, repetitive scheme. The rogue bankers systematically carried out unauthorized withdrawals targeting the personal bank accounts of 305 defenseless customers, all of whom were designated beneficiaries of the Federal Government’s Palliative Scheme. In total, the illicit network managed to siphon N7,842,700.00 (Seven Million, Eight Hundred and Forty-Two Thousand, Seven Hundred Naira), which they meticulously routed into the personal accounts of the Palliative Scheme’s coordinators, ValidViewNetwork reports.

​This landmark judgment serves as an uncompromising warning to bad actors within Nigeria’s banking ecosystem who view public relief funds as easy targets for exploitation. By ensuring that these corrupt officials trade their corporate suits for prison uniforms, the judiciary and the EFCC have sent a loud message that stealing from the poor carries a heavy price, ValidViewNetwork reports.