The branch manager of Grooming Micro-Finance Bank, Ipata Market, Ilorin, Kwara State,  northcentral Nigeria, Oyelade Oloyede Kazeem, has been remanded in prison custody along with three other staff of the bank for allegedly defrauding the bank of the sum of N2,871,000.

The bubble burst when an auditor of the bank, Timothy Bunmi, went to audit the account records of the branch and discovered that Oyelade, who is the branch manager, allegedly conspired with three others who are credit officers of the bank to steal the N2,871,000.

The accused persons were arraigned before an Ilorin Chief Magistrate's Court on a three-count charge of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and theft.

Police First Information Report, FIR, on the matter stated that the branch manager, who is the first accused, confessed that he used part of the money to acquire a plot of land in Ilorin at a cost of N250,000.

The prosecutor, Sergeant Mathew Saye, who informed the court that investigation into the matter was yet to be completed, prayed the court to remand the four accused persons in prison custody pending the outcome of the investigation.

Refusing the oral application of the defence counsel, Barrister S. I. Alabidun, seeking admittance of the accused to bail, the Judge, Mrs. O. A. Adeniyi, ordered that the accused be remanded at the Federal Prisons, Oke-Kura, Ilorin, until 2 October when the case would come up for further mention.