Lovers Steal ATM Card, Withdraw N300,000

Two lovers, Bamigboye Imoleayo (24) and her lover, Adeyinka Ayodele, have allegedly stole an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card, withdrew N300,000 from the account and went on a spending spree. Imoleayo and Ayodele, now in the custody of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Ikeja, Lagos State, reportedly stole the ATM card belonging to Musa Alli.
The lovers used the money to buy phones and clothes. They were arrested along with two of Ayodele’s friends, who also used the ATM card to withdraw some money. Imoleayo was arrested at a club in Surulere area of Lagos.

She was later used as a bait to catch Ayodele and his two friends at Itori, a community in Ogun State. According to the police, Imoleayo stole the phone after a customer, Alli, whom she met at the club and chatted with, fell asleep. Imoleayo confessed to have stolen Alli’s ATM card when he fell asleep during their conversation at the club.

She said: 

“I managed to steal the card when Musa dozed off during our conversation. Initially, I had spied and memoriesed his Personal Identification Number (PIN) when he was sending money to his colleague via mobile app. I committed this offence because I was desperate to re-stock my shop at Wasimi Market, Ogun State. I also did it to take care of my only daughter. I never had a rethink while committing the crime.”

Imoleayo also narrated how she and lover withdrew and expended funds from the ATM. She added: “I intended to withdraw only N20,000 out of his bank account and then destroyed the card, but I checked his account balance and was shocked at the amount I saw. Afterwards, I withdrew another N70,000, making N90,000 that day.” Imoleayo said that the following day, she called her boyfriend, who instructed her not to destroy the card.

Ayodele told her to come straight to Itori, Ogun State, where he resides. When she got to Itori, Ayodele called two of his friends, Abimbola Akintanna and Owolabi Bamidele, to use the ATM at any nearest bank. Alli gave account of what transpired.

He said: 

“I thought I had misplaced the card not knowing that the lady had stolen it and thereafter memorised my PIN. I was shocked on Saturday afternoon to receive debit alerts amounting to N90,000 withdrawals. 

While I was still contemplating on how to deal with the issue, I got another debit alert for buying two Infinix phones totalling N84,000. I was confused. I didn’t know what action to take on a Saturday evening. “On Sunday, there was another debit. I lodged a complaint on Monday morning at my bank. 

I was told that the withdrawals and shopping were legitimately made by me. I reported the incident at the RRS office on Monday after informing my bank. It was unbelievable for me when I came face to face with the suspect. It was the lady I met at the club. She explained everything.”

The victim added that the suspects took the card to a shopping mall in Abeokuta where they bought phones and clothes. Imoleayo said: “The following day, we went straight to Abeokuta to use the card. We thought by going far to Ogun State, nobody could trace us.

We bought two android phones for N84,000 at a phone store. We proceeded to a boutique where four of us bought clothes worth N126,000. I recharged my phone with another N2,500 worth of recharge card. The money spent from the account was over N300,000.” Two android phones, eight pairs of trousers and shirts were recovered from the suspects during a search of their residents.