A Lagos State Special Offences and Domestic Violence Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a former Director in the Lagos State Ministry of Education, Olawale Solomon Feleti, to two years and five months’ imprisonment for stealing ₦48,992,271.73.
Justice Rahman Oshodi convicted the 64-year-old after finding him guilty on five counts of stealing preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC had alleged that Feleti dishonestly converted the sum of ₦48,992,271.73, belonging to Access Bank Plc, to his personal use.
According to the prosecution, the convict exploited a system glitch during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to gain unauthorised access to the bank’s credit card platform.
The anti-graft agency told the court that Feleti made multiple withdrawals, sometimes accessing up to ₦43,000 per transaction, despite knowing he had no authorisation to do so.
It was alleged that between July 2 and July 10, 2020, he fraudulently withdrew ₦12,528,598, while additional sums of ₦6,808,480 were withdrawn between May 22 and July 1, 2020.
The EFCC said the offences were contrary to and punishable under Section 287(1)(a) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
In his judgment, Justice Oshodi held that Feleti’s actions were calculated, noting that he carried out several transactions despite being fully aware that he had no legal access to the funds.
The court further held that the convict showed no genuine remorse and failed to accept responsibility for his actions.
Justice Oshodi consequently found him guilty on all five counts and sentenced him to two years and five months’ imprisonment on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently.
The court also ordered Feleti to pay restitution of ₦3 million to the court and ₦45,991,271.73 to Access Bank Plc.
In addition, the judge directed him to pay a fine of ₦5 million, noting that full restitution could warrant consideration of a non-custodial sentence if the bank formally notified the court.
The judge ordered that the custodial sentence commence on January 5, 2026, at a maximum security facility, and further directed that Feleti’s name be entered into the Lagos State offenders’ registry maintained by the Lagos State Judiciary.
