Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court on Monday sentenced a 39-year-old locomotive train driver, Christopher Ofielu, to one and a half years in prison or, alternatively, a fine of N1.5 million for stealing N6,995,944 belonging to HabariPay Limited.

Ofielu, an employee of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, was convicted after pleading guilty to a one-count charge of stealing brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

According to the prosecution, Ofielu exploited a system glitch in October 2023 to fraudulently transfer N6,995,944 from HabariPay’s account into his Access Bank account (No. 14864072356). Investigators traced the funds to a HabariPay Squad account he created specifically for the illicit transaction.

A petition from HabariPay Limited, dated September 26, 2023, prompted the EFCC’s investigation and subsequent arrest of the suspect. Further inquiries revealed that the glitch had led to unauthorized withdrawals totaling over N900 million, with Ofielu receiving a portion of the stolen money.

An EFCC witness, Adams Adze, testified that the transaction narration read “HabariPay Squad” and that the defendant had first received a test transfer of N500 before the larger fraudulent amount was credited. Adze also confirmed that Ofielu admitted to belonging to a WhatsApp group that coordinated the illegal transfers.

Prosecutor Abubakar Dambuwa told the court that the offence violated Section 280 (1) (b) (f) and was punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

During the sentencing plea, defence counsel Mercy Akhabue appealed for leniency, describing Ofielu as a first-time offender who was remorseful and had begun steps to refund the stolen funds. She added that Access Bank had frozen all his accounts, including his salary account.

In his judgment, Justice Oshodi sentenced Ofielu to one year and six months imprisonment, effective October 20, 2025, with an option of a N1.5 million fine. The court also ordered that N6,995,944 be restituted to HabariPay Limited from the defendant’s Access Bank account within seven days.

The judge further directed that Ofielu’s biometric data be entered into the Lagos State Offenders’ Database and that his Ecobank account be restored after compliance with the restitution order.

Justice Oshodi ruled, “You are 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 from your Access Bank account and pay N1.5 million in lieu of imprisonment, subject to verification of the restitution order.”

The case highlights the EFCC’s continued crackdown on cyber-enabled financial crimes and corporate fraud in Nigeria’s digital payment ecosystem.