Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court on Monday sentenced a 39-year-old locomotive train driver with the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Christopher Ofielu, to one and a half years imprisonment or, in the alternative, to pay a N1.5m fine for stealing N6,995,944 belonging to HabariPay Limited.
Ofielu was convicted after pleading guilty to a one-count charge of stealing brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
According to the prosecution, Ofielu, in October 2023, exploited a system glitch to transfer N6,995,944 from HabariPay’s account into his Access Bank account (No. 14864072356).
The funds were traced to his HabariPay Squad account, which investigators said he created specifically for fraudulent activities.
A petition from HabariPay Limited dated September 26, 2023, led to Ofielu’s arrest.
Investigations revealed that the system glitch had resulted in unauthorized withdrawals totaling over N900m, with Ofielu receiving a portion of the stolen funds.
The prosecution witness Adams Adze testified that the defendant received the N6,995,944 with the transaction narration “HabariPay Squad.”
He also noted that the first transfer of N500 preceded the larger fraudulent transaction.
Adze added that Ofielu confessed to belonging to a WhatsApp group involved in the scheme.
Two men, Rabiru Hassan, 33 and Femi Daodu, 32, have been arraigned before an Akure Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ondo State for the alleged m8rder of one Ahmed Isah during a violent altercation.
The defendants, who reside at Igbolupa Camp via Idoani in Ondo State, were brought to court on two count charge bordering on conspiracy and m8rder, filed by the Ondo State Police Command.
Police Prosecutor, Inspector Taiwo Oniyere, told the court that the accused committed the offence on September 27, 2025, at about 7:00 p.m. at Igbolupa Camp in the Ondo State Magisterial District.
Oniyere alleged that the duo caused the d3ath of the deceased by using a grinding mill stone to fatally strike his head during the dispute.
he charges read, “That you, Rabiru Hassan ‘m’ and Femi Daodu ‘m’, on September 27, 2025, at about 7:00 p.m. at Igbolupa Camp via Ido-Ani in the Ondo State Magisterial District, did conspire together to commit felony to wit: m8rder, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 324 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 37, Vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006.”
“That you, Rabiru Hassan ‘m’ and Femi Daodu ‘m’, on the same date, time and place in the aforementioned Magisterial District, did unlawfully use a grinding mill stone to break the head of one Ahmed Isah ‘m’, which resulted in his d3ath, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 316 and punishable under Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap. 37, Vol. 1, Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006.”
The defendants’ plea was not taken.
Inspector Oniyere requested the court to remand the accused persons in a correctional facility pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).
Defence counsel, Israel Tiwo prayed the court to grant an adjournment to enable the defendants to file a formal bail application through an affidavit.
The EFCC’s prosecutor, Mr. Abubakar Dambuwa, told the court that the offence contravened Section 280 (1) (b) (f) and was punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
During allocutus, defence counsel Mercy Akhabue pleaded for leniency, describing Ofielu as a first-time offender who was remorseful and had taken steps to refund the stolen money.
She also informed the court that Access Bank had placed a Post No Debit on all the defendant’s accounts, including his salary account, and sought an order for restoration.
In his judgment, Justice Oshodi sentenced Ofielu to one year and six months imprisonment, effective October 20, 2025, with an option of a N1.5m fine in lieu of the custodial term.
The judge further ordered that N6,995,944 be restituted to HabariPay Limited from Ofielu’s Access Bank account, with all documentation to be completed within seven days.
Chief Magistrate Olateju Odenusi-Fadeyi adjourned the case to October 30, 2025, for the hearing of the bail application. She ordered that the defendants were ordered to be kept at the Olokuta Correctional Facility, Akure.
