Unity Bank Manager, Assistant Arrested In Warri Over Alleged Diversion Of N2.5m From A Dead Customer Account

The Acting Branch Manager of Unity Bank in Warri, Mr. Mark Chinedu and his assistant have been arrested by the police in connection to alleged diversion of N2.5 million from a dead customer’s account with the bank.

BigPen Online gathered that the sum was discovered transferred from the customer’s account to another bank allegedly by a fraudster in connivance with officials of the bank after his death.

Sources revealed that relatives of the deceased customer discovered the fraud at the branch of Unity Bank in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area last week five years after the demised customer, late Chief John Akpile.

It was learnt that following the development, the police at the ‘B Division’ Okumagba Avenue in Warri South Council Area who were intimated of the discovery immediately swung into action and arrested some officials of the bank for questioning including the Acting Branch Manager of the bank, Mr Mark Chinedu and his assistance who were interrogated for hours over the matter.

A family member of the late Akpile who exposed the fraud in a statement made available to BigPen Online on Friday, raised the alarm that the diversion of the sum from the account of their late father to an unknown bank account by an unidentified fraudster was allegedly in connivance with the bank officials.

Son of the deceased, one Joseph Akpile, who signed the statement disclosed that the money was discovered missing by the family during a recent check on the Effurun branch of the bank.

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According to him, following the demise of their father sometimes in 2013 they were privileged to go through his statements of account after they had concluded all the burial rites and decided to allow time before accessing the funds left behind in his account.

“It was shocking to us on getting to the same branch of Unity Bank in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area last week only to discovered that N2.5m had been transferred to another bank account yet to be revealed by the bank officials even till now.

“What is very obvious in this fraud is the fact that a clear case of connivance between the bank officials and whosoever must have carried out this fraud had been established, as it would not have been easy for any stranger to gain access to the accounting details including signature and passwords to carryout the transfer”.

He stated further that it was based on the confusion the fraud caused in the family, especially with the inability of the bank officials to trace the owner of the receiving account that prompted the family to invite the police to investigate the matter in order to unravel the mystery.

But in a swift reaction to the incident, the head of the bank Corporate Affairs in Lagos, Mr. Matthew Obiazikwor, noted that as a transparent organisation committed to serving the interest of the public, the bank has decided to allow the police carryout its investigation on the matter without undue interference.

According to him, “the bank management had deliberated extensively on the issue and resolved that the police be given the necessary free hands to do its job and by so doing helping the bank to unravel the mystery surrounding the missing money”.

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The Delta state Police Command Public Relations Officer, (PPRO) DSP Andrew Aniamaka, confirmed the fraud in a telephone conversation with one of our Correspondent in Warri on Friday

He noted that the police had commenced investigations to track down those behind the fraudulent transfer of the missing money in order to bring the culprits to book.