Magistrate A.A Adefulire of the Itire Magistrate’s Court, Lagos, on Wednesday warned employers against employing people without responsible guarantors.
Adefulire said the warning became necessary to ensure that the guarantors could be held responsible when such employees broke the laws.
The magistrate gave the warning while hearing an eight-year-old fraud case instituted against three employees of CYPRESS Community Bank, Ladipo, Lagos.
Shola Soetan, 31, Lawal Funso, 33, and Dunni Buttoh, 22, are alleged to have on Aug. 2, 2002 defrauded the company of more than N2.6 million.
The magistrate noted that cases of employees defrauding their employers were on the increase.
The only way to curb it is for employers to insist on having traceable persons who have the resources to forfeit in case the employees default.
It is not only criminal that persons employed to earn a living would turn back to defraud the company, it is a clear case of wickedness,’’ Adefulire said.
Pastor Bade Ajidaun, complainant and owner of CYPRESS Community Bank, told the court that the case had lingered on for too long and all peaceful efforts to retrieve the money had failed.
The three accused are facing a three-count charge of stealing and fraud.
According to the charge sheet, the offences are contrary to and punishable under Sections 816 Cap 32, 390 (8) (C) and 439 Cap 32 of the Criminal Code Laws of Lagos State 1994.
Two of the accused, Soetan and Buttoh, who were present in court pleaded for leniency, saying that they were making “frantic efforts to pay”.
The magistrate gave them till Dec. 22 to pay up the money.
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