Police arrest fugitive Keystone Bank staff accused of N35m theft

Ebele Bernardine Okpala, an employee of Keystone Bank Limited, has been arrested by the Nigeria Police for the alleged unauthorized use of a customer’s N35 million credit facility.

Okpala, who had been absent from her workplace in Lagos since September 6, 2023, was located and taken into custody by police detectives in Delta State on July 4, 2024.

The allegations state that the N35 million, obtained as a credit facility in July 2023 from a financial services firm, was purportedly intended as proof of funds for her daughter’s Canadian visa application.

Following her arrest, the Police Special Fraud Unit’s Legal Department in Lagos filed a four-count charge against Okpala at a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos.

According to SP Eyitayo Johnson, spokesman of the Special Fraud Unit, the money was deposited into Okpala’s account at Keystone Bank and secured by a Post-No-Debit order placed by the financial company to safeguard the funds.

SP Johnson suggested that Okpala might have collaborated with a colleague, a Service Manager at the bank, to bypass internal procedures and lift the Post-No-Debit order without proper authorization, enabling her to transfer the funds for personal use.

Johnson added, “After the act, on the 6th of September 2023, she absconded from her duties at the bank until her arrest on July 4, 2024.”