Female Banker Defrauds Emir Of Kano

The princely amount of N46 million in the
dormant bank account of the Emir of Kano,
Alhaji Ado Bayero, was simply irresistible for
the young female banker.
So the suspect, Amina Magaji, was prepared
to risk everything to reactivate the account
and convert part of the balance there in to
her use. The account was said to have been
opened in 1967 but went dormant later.
The suspect allegedly applied for a cheque
book, got it and began to operate the
account. By the time the bubble burst, she
had, according to a source, withdrawn
N17million from the account. Amina,
alongside 12 other staffers of the old
generation bank, is answering questions
from the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, on the alleged fraud.
The suspect is allegedly married to a senior
staff of a broadcast organisation.
Amina, believed to be in her late 30s,
allegedly began systematic withdrawal from
the monarch’s account since 2011 before
she ran out of luck when her boss
discovered discrepancies in the Emir’s
signature.
An EFCC source disclosed that the suspected
fraudster requested for a cheque book
purportedly on the order of Bayero which
the bank obliged her, but, unknown to other
bank officials, the cheque book remained in
her custody.
She consequently used the cheque to make
withdrawals from the monarch’s account.
Bank sources revealed that Amina within the
last four years withdrew N17 million from
the Emir’s account before the scam blew
open.
The EFCC source said the matter was
reported to the anti graft agency for
appropriate action, stressing that
“consequent upon that, we invited and
quizzed 12 staffers closely related to the
account”.
An EFCC operative, who spoke to Sunday
Vanguard on the condition of anonymity,
revealed that “preliminary investigations
indicate that many of them have case to
answer as we are able to establish
conspiracy and negligence on the part of
those connected with the monitoring and
control of the bank account in question”.
It was learnt that “the bank has raised the
alleged stolen money through the 12
staffers quizzed by the EFCC and returned
same to the Emir while the principal suspect
has been fired as part of measures adopted
by the bank to restore confidence.”.
In the meantime, the principal suspect is
said to be cooling her feet in the EFCC
custody pending the completion of
investigation into the case.
EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwajeren,
confirmed the story; but refused to go any
further.