NAN-H-13
Impersonation
By Deborah Akpede
Lagos, Aug. 10, 2017 (NAN) A 33-year-old barman, Peter Ubong, who allegedly impersonated his friend, Emmanuel Okon, to gain access to his bank account was on Thursday in Lagos granted a N100, 000 bail.
An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court who granted Ubong bail asked him to provide two sureties as part of the bail conditions.
The magistrate, Mrs I.O. Raji said the sureties should show evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
Ubong, whose address was not given, is facing a charge of impersonation.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Sgt Yomi Egunjobi, told the court that the accused committed the offence on July 21 at the Akowonjo branch of Union Bank in Lagos State.
He said that the accused presented himself as Mr Emmanuel Okon with the intent to collect money from the complainant’s account.
“The accused went to the bank with the complainant’s account number and requested for an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) card.
“The bank discovered that the accused had impersonated the owner of the account when its official checked the identity of the accused using the Bank Verification Number (BVN).
“When the bank put a call through to Okon, he admitted that the accused is his friend and roommate.
“Okon denied ever authorising the accused to collect money from his bank account using his ATM,” he said.
Egunjobi said the offence contravened Section 316 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (revised).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 316 prescribes a 15-year-jail term for anyone culpable.
The magistrate adjourned the case until Aug.14 for mention. (NAN)
DOA/EOB/PAD
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Edited by Edith Bolokor/Peter Dada