Four UBA officials arrested for alleged diversion of over £138,000

Four senior officials of UBA were arrested for allegedly diverting over £138,000 from international airlines’ accounts in a fraudulent scheme

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Lagos State Police Command has arrested four senior officials of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) for allegedly diverting £138,924 (over N270 million) from the accounts of international airlines.

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The fraud was uncovered after the bank reported the illegal transactions to the authorities.

In a statement on Monday, the command’s spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the arrests, detailing that the suspects conspired to transfer funds from domiciliary accounts into personal accounts before redistributing them to various destinations.

The fraudulent activity came to light when UBA detected the unauthorised transactions and promptly reported them to the police.

This led to a swift investigation that culminated in the arrest of the suspects at different locations across Nigeria.

Shuaib Oluwatobiloba Olaleye, 27, was arrested on March 12, 2025, in Ogun State. During his arrest, a Toyota Camry (2012/2013 model), suspected to have been purchased with the stolen funds, was recovered from him.

Another suspect, Oladunjoye Adegoke, 33, was apprehended on March 13, 2025, in Victoria Island, Lagos. A Toyota Camry (Pencil Light) was also seized from him as suspected proceeds of the crime.

In addition, Austin Alfred, 38, a Supervisor in UBA’s Trade Services Department, and Jude Uzobuaku, 36, a processor in the same department, were arrested for their roles in facilitating the illegal transfer of funds to foreign accounts.

According to the police, the stolen funds were initially transferred into one of the suspects’ accounts before being spread across multiple accounts in an attempt to cover up the crime and evade detection.

Authorities are now focused on identifying additional accomplices and recovering the remaining funds.

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CSP Hundeyin confirmed that the suspects are currently in custody, and investigations are ongoing. They are expected to face prosecution once the investigation concludes.

Quadri Olaitan