Man steals woman’s sim card, transfers N714,000 to another account

                                                     
A 31-year-old businessman, Damilare Ketiku, who al­legedly stole a SIM card and used it to transfer N714,000 to another account was on Wednesday brought before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in La­gos.

The accused was docked be­fore Magistrate Y.O Ekogbule on a charge of stealing.

Ketiku, a resident of Ikosi, Ketu, Lagos, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge and was admitted to bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.

According to the prosecutor, Insp. Clement Okuoimose, the accused committed the act be­tween the months of April and May at Oshodi, Lagos.

He said that the accused en­tered the shop of one Mrs Reki­yat Yaya, stole her SIM card and withdrew N714,000 from her bank account.

“The accused stole the com­plainant’s Airtel SIM card and copied out her Bank Verification Number (BVN). He used it to transfer N714,000 from her Ac­cess bank account to another Ac­cess Bank account and withdrew it, without the complainant’s knowledge.

“When the complainant got to the bank to make some transac­tions, she discovered that her account had been hacked into and her money stolen by the ac­cused,’’ he said.

The offence contravenes Sec­tion 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised) which recommends three years imprisonment. The case was ad­journed to May 30 for mention.