The police in Lagos have apprehended one Ibrahim Adebowale, an apprentice mechanic in the Mushin area of Lagos state, Ibrahim Adebowale, for absconding with N156,000 belonging to his boss.
Herald Nigeria gathered that the boss, Akinyemi Benjamin, had given the suspect his Automated Teller Machine card to help him withdraw N20,000, but he cleared N156,000 from the account.
Investigations revealed that he used the money to place a bet on football matches via a sport betting outlet popularly known as NaijaBet.
He was consequently tracked down following Benjamin’s report to the police at the Olosan Division and Adebowale was tracked down.
Benjamin said, “I gave him my ATM card to go to a nearby bank and help me withdraw N20,000. Some minutes after he left, I received alerts on my phone, showing that he had collected N20,000 many times.
“I left what I was doing and rushed to the bank. By the time I got there, I had received alerts indicating that he had withdrawn N156,000. I went to check him at his parents’ house but his mother said she did not know his whereabouts. I then reported the case to the police.”
In his statement to the police, Adebowale, a native of Lafenwa in Ogun State, said, “That day, my boss gave me his ATM card to help him withdraw N20,000 from his account. When I got to the ATM point, I decided to withdraw N156,000 and ran away. I used the money to place bets in NaijaBet.”
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He was consequently brought before an Ogba magistrates’ court by a police prosecutor, Inspector Koti Ahondehemba, on two counts of stealing.
The charges read, “That you, Ibrahim Adebowale, on April 13, 2019 at about 7.20pm, on Oyekunle Street, Mushin, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did conduct yourself in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace by taking your boss’ UBA ATM card, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section168 (d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.
“That you, Ibrahim Adebowale, on the same date, time and place, in the aforementioned magisterial district, did steal the sum of one N156,000 property of one Akinyemi Benjamin, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.”
The presiding Magistrate, Mr K. O. Osundare, granted him bail in the sum of N80,000 with one surety in the like sum and adjourned the matter till May 6, 2019.