An Enugu State High Court has convicted and sentenced two former bankers, Sani Endurance Aferokhe and Hillary Odo, for the criminal diversion of N10.3 million belonging to pensioners.
The duo were convicted by Justice A. O. Onovo of the Enugu State High Court sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu, following their prosecution by the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
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The EFCC arraigned the defendants on January 18, 2016, on a 15-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery and stealing while they were staff of Intercontinental Bank Plc, now Access Bank Plc.
According to the charge, the defendants unlawfully reactivated dormant accounts belonging to pensioners without their consent and diverted funds for personal use.
One of the counts stated that on November 21, 2012, the defendants stole N4.44 million from the account of a customer, Udekwu F. A. O, domiciled at the bank’s Nsukka branch. Another count alleged the theft of N2.11 million from the account of Onuora George on October 12, 2012.
The offences were said to be contrary to Section 459(a) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 30, Laws of Enugu State, 2004.
The defendants pleaded not guilty, prompting a full trial. During the proceedings, the prosecution, led by EFCC counsel Michael Ikechukwu Ani, presented five witnesses and tendered several documentary exhibits.
In her judgment delivered on Friday, December 22, 2025, Justice Onovo dismissed counts six and nine. The court convicted Odo, the second defendant, on counts four and seven, and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment on each count, with an option of a N100,000 fine per count.
Aferokhe, the first defendant, was convicted on counts one, two, three, five, eight, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen and fifteen. He was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on each of the counts, except count fifteen, which attracted a three-year jail term, with an option of a N100,000 fine on each count.
The court held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, noting that the convicts abused their positions as bank staff to defraud vulnerable customers, particularly pensioners.
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