Former Lagos Education Director sentenced for stealing N48.9 million from Access Bank

An Ikeja Special Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Monday sentenced Olawale Faleti, a former Lagos State Education Director, to two years and five months’ imprisonment for the misappropriation of N48.9 million from Access Bank Plc.

Justice Rahman Oshodi, presiding over the case, convicted the 64-year-old on five counts of theft following charges brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

In delivering judgment, Oshodi described Faleti’s actions as ‘deliberate and sustained,’ noting that he repeatedly withdrew funds despite lacking any authorisation.

The judge also observed that Faleti did not demonstrate genuine remorse or fully acknowledge responsibility for his conduct.

“Financial institutions are the backbone of our economy, and public trust in them must be safeguarded,” the judge stated. “Anyone attempting to defraud banks must understand that severe penalties will ensue.”

Although the court recognised Faleti as a first-time offender, it ruled that a custodial sentence was unavoidable.

Oshodi applied a 20 per cent reduction from the statutory maximum sentence of three years, taking into account the partial restitution made by the convict.

Faleti received concurrent sentences of two years and five months on each of the five counts.

The prison term is to commence from January 5, 2026, and the court directed that his biometric data and details be recorded in the Lagos State Judiciary offenders’ registry.

The court also ordered that, after deducting N3 million already repaid, Faleti must pay the outstanding N45.9 million to Access Bank Plc.

The bank was instructed to notify the court once full repayment has been made.

During proceedings, EFCC counsel Ahmed Dambuwa explained that Faleti had exploited unauthorised access to an Access Bank credit card to convert the funds dishonestly.

The card allowed withdrawals of no less than N43,000 per transaction, but a system error during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 enabled Faleti to withdraw approximately N48 million.

Specific charges included converting N12.6 million between July 2 and July 10, 2020, and N6.9 million between May 22 and July 1, 2020, all belonging to Access Bank Plc.

The offences were found to contravene Section 287(1)(a) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.