Prison Officer Sent to Jail After Spending N1.2m Salary Mistakenly Paid to Her In Ondo

A judge in Ondo State has sent an official of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Opadule Caroline Abimbola to prison after refusing to report money overpaid to her

The presiding judge of the High Court, Akure convicted the officer of fraudulently forging receipt of property.

The Independent Corrupts Practices, and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, in 2020 arraigned Abimbola.

The officer pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges filed against her, allegedly procuring a fraudulent receipt of property, making false testimony to a public office, and using her office to perpetrate corrupt practices against herself.

According to Section 13, 25, and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Act, 2000.

The prosecuting team, ICPC, explained how at various times in 2021, Abimbola, who was still an officer at the then Nigeria Prison Service, was overpaid up to an N1.2million above her monthly salary on several occasions in 2012.

However, she did not report the salary overpayment and made a false statement to the ICPC when she was interrogated.

Justice Olabode Adegbengbe of High Court 5 made the ruling, sentencing Abimbola to a fine of N100,000 instead of a custodial sentence.

Abimbola was further instructed to refund N900,000 to the ICPC Recovery Account in the space of three months and enter a bond to conduct herself appropriately going forward.