An Abeokuta Magistrates’ Court sitting at Isabo on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, sentenced Idris Balogun to four years in prison after the defendant pleaded guilty to posing as a Polaris Bank official and defrauding customers.

Magistrate Mrs A. Y. Morakinyo convicted Idris Balogun on a six-count charge covering conspiracy, impersonation, fraud, stealing and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.

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The defendant, who gave no fixed address, admitted the charges.

Mrs Morakinyo imposed four years’ imprisonment for conspiracy and fraud, with no option of a fine on each of those counts.

She added three years for false pretence and two years for stealing, again with no option of a fine. The terms are to run concurrently, so the effective sentence is four years.

Prosecutor ASP Johnson Pendosoji told the court the offences took place on 22 February 2019 and 7 March 2024 at Polaris Bank, Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta.

ASP Pendosoji said Idris Balogun would approach customers inside or near the branch, offer to help pay money in, collect the cash and leave before it reached a cashier.

Jamiu Razaq lost N270,000 on 22 February 2019. Sukurat Tijani lost N600,000 on 7 March 2024. The two sums total N870,000.

ASP Pendosoji described Idris Balogun as a serial fraudster who specialised in impersonating bank staff. “This act of fraudulent behavior should not be tolerated nor condoned by anyone,” ASP Pendosoji said.

The prosecutor told the court the conduct breached Sections 383, 390(9), 484 and 419 of the Criminal Code, Volume 1, Laws of Ogun State, 2006. The report was issued through the News Agency of Nigeria.

The case underlines a familiar risk at crowded Nigerian bank halls: a stranger in the queue who sounds like staff and offers to “help you pay it in.” Customers who hand over cash before a teller issues a receipt have little protection once the impostor walks out. The guilty plea shortened the trial. Recovery of the N870,000 was not set out in the judgment as reported.

No video is required for this story. A courthouse or generic bank-hall image is enough. Do not invent a clip of the offences.

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The dates stretch from 2019 to 2024, which supports the prosecutor’s claim of a repeated method, but the court sentenced on the counts before it, not on an open-ended label of “serial” beyond those facts.