Blame it on recession: 29-year-old cleaner steals N5.675 million from Diamond bank
A 29-year-old cleaner, Peter Oko who worked with a new branch of Diamond Bank in Nyanya successfully made away with N5.675 million before the long arm of the law caught up with him.
His mode of operation was to take the keys to the vault, steal as much money as he could, then hide it in a carton.
Oko was apprehended by the police when the money he had successfully taken home after work was discovered at his apartment.
The culprit who has been charged to court narrated how he was able to carry out the operation to Northern City News at the Nasarawa State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department in Lafia.
“As a cleaner, I knew where all the keys were kept,” he said.
“I single-handedly carried out the operation because I have been working as a cleaner in the bank for the past 10 years and my eyes had been on one of the keys to the vault, where the bank used to keep all its money.
“As a cleaner, my attention was not only on the keys, but on how I will carry out the operation successfully without being caught by either the security or any staff of the bank.”
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Oko further said he was able to carry out the heinous act without the knowledge of the bankers because he knew where all secret files and keys were kept.
“As a cleaner, I knew where all the secret files were kept and where the bank kept its keys where you can have access to dollars, Nigerian currency and all other currencies,” he said.
The prevalent economic recession was Oko’s reason for involving in the crime, as he stated that he had never been involved in a criminal act before now.
“The devil of economy recession pushed me into the crime; I have never committed a criminal act before, luck ran out on me and I was caught in the process,” he said.
Abubakar Bello, the state Commissioner of Police, said the crime was reported to the police in October, 2016, by the bank, before the matter was then transferred from Karu Divisional Police Headquarters to the SCIID for investigations.
