Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja, has sentenced a 39-year-old locomotive driver with the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Christopher Ofielu, to one year and six months imprisonment for stealing N6,995,944 belonging to HabariPay Limited.

The convict was, however, given an option to pay a fine of N1.5 million instead of the jail term.

Ofielu was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge of stealing. He pleaded guilty to the offence. According to the EFCC, the incident occurred in October 2023 when Ofielu took advantage of a system glitch to fraudulently transfer N6.99 million from HabariPay’s account into his Access Bank account.

Investigations revealed that he had created a HabariPay Squad account specifically for the illegal transaction. A petition from the company, dated September 26, 2023, triggered the EFCC’s investigation, which uncovered a wider system error that had led to over N900 million in unauthorized withdrawals—Ofielu’s share being part of the total.

During the trial, EFCC witness Adams Adze testified that Ofielu had first transferred N500 before moving the full N6.99 million. He also confessed to being part of a WhatsApp group that coordinated similar fraudulent acts.

Defence counsel, Mercy Akhabue, pleaded for leniency, describing Ofielu as a remorseful first-time offender who had started refunding the stolen funds. She also noted that his accounts had been frozen by Access Bank.

In his ruling, Justice Oshodi ordered that the N6,995,944 be refunded to HabariPay Limited within seven days through Ofielu’s Access Bank account, with all restitution documents verified by the EFCC. He also directed that the defendant’s biometric data be entered into the Lagos State Offenders’ Database.

Justice Oshodi stated: “You are hereby sentenced to one year and six months imprisonment from today, October 20, 2025, for the offence of stealing. You shall make restitution of N6,995,944 to HabariPay Limited and pay N1.5 million at the court registry instead of imprisonment, subject to verification of restitution.”

The case underscores the EFCC’s continued efforts to clamp down on cyber-enabled financial crimes in Nigeria.