A 39-year-old locomotive train driver with the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Christopher Ofielu, has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment or, in the alternative, to pay a N1.5m fine for stealing N6,995,944 belonging to HabariPay Limited.
He was sentenced on Monday, Oct. 20, by Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court.
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 another of his Bank account.
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.
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.
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.
He also directed the restoration of Ofielu’s Ecobank account and ordered that his biometric data be registered in the Lagos State Offenders’ Database.
Justice Oshodi said, “You are sentenced to one year and six months imprisonment from today, October 20, 2025, for the offence of stealing.
“You shall make restitution of N6,995,944 to HabariPay Ltd from your Access Bank account, and pay N1.5m, at the court registry in lieu of imprisonment, subject to the full implementation and verification of the restitution order.”
