Lagos Court Jails Train Driver 18 Months for ₦6.9m Theft

Ikeja, Lagos — Monday, October 20, 2025

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Monday, October 20, 2025, convicted and sentenced Christopher Ekene Ofielu, a 39-year-old driver with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), to 18 months imprisonment for stealing ₦6.9 million belonging to HabariPay Ltd.

Ofielu was arraigned on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing, and possession of stolen funds to the tune of ₦6,995,944 (Six Million, Nine Hundred and Ninety-Five Thousand, Nine Hundred and Forty-Four Naira only).

One of the counts read:
“That you, Christopher Ekene Ofielu, on or about October 2023, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, used your HabariPay Squad account created for criminal activity and transferred the sum of ₦6,995,944 into your Access Bank account number 14864072356, property of HabariPay Ltd.”
Upon arraignment, Ofielu pleaded guilty to the charges.
Following his plea, the prosecution counsel, Abubakar Dambuwa, called Adams Adze, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to review the facts of the case.

Adze told the court that the defendant was arrested after a petition dated September 26, 2023, was submitted to the EFCC by HabariPay Ltd, alleging that Ofielu had exploited a system glitch to make unauthorized withdrawals from the company’s account.
The prosecution informed the court that the defendant had entered a plea bargain agreement and urged the court to convict him accordingly.
In his plea for leniency, the defence counsel, Mercy Akhabue, appealed to the court to temper justice with mercy, noting that the defendant was remorseful and a first-time offender.
After listening to both sides, Justice Oshodi convicted Ofielu on the count of stealing and sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment, effective from October 20, 2025.

However, the court gave the convict an option of a ₦1.5 million fine, on the condition that he fully restitutes the stolen ₦6,995,944 to HabariPay Ltd within seven days from his Access Bank account (No. 14864072356). Failure to do so would result in the enforcement of the full prison term.
Justice Oshodi also ordered the restoration of the convict’s EcoBank salary account and directed that Ofielu’s biometric data be entered into the Lagos State offenders’ register.

The court further ordered that the convict be remanded in EFCC custody pending the execution of all necessary restitution and documentation.