Ayomide Lamidi, 29, a Loan Officer with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Microfinance, was arrested on suspicion of stealing N11.6 million from the bank, on Thursday in the Ogudu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.
As part of its Commercial and Retail Banking group, FCMB owns and runs the FCMB Microfinance Bank Limited, which offers financial services to underbanked Nigerians, small businesses, and low-income individuals. The bank was established to advance financial inclusion.
To encourage economic growth and entrepreneurship, it provides digital services, affordable funding, and financial literacy initiatives.
Inspector Sunday Bassey, the Prosecutor, informed the court that the defendant committed the crime at the bank branch on Ikorodu Road in Ketu between January and July of 2025.
According to Bassey, an internal audit found that the defendant had taken deposits and loan repayments from clients for personal use rather than depositing them into the bank’s account. He said that after learning of the fraud, the branch manager, Yetunde Ogundare, and the bank’s auditor, Mr. Adesola Adebowale, reported the incident to the police.
The defendant confessed to the act while being questioned, the prosecutor continued. According to him, the offence was against Section 287(7) of the Lagos State 2015 Criminal Law.
BrandSpur banking and finance news desk reports that the defendant was given N700,000 in bail by the magistrate, Mrs. O.A. Daodu, along with two sureties in an equivalent amount. The case was postponed for a follow-up hearing until October 7, 2025.
