This archive report was first published on 23 August 2019.
On a recent day in Lagos, a security outfit honoured one of its staff members for his honesty. William Okogbue, a security guard, was awarded by Hogan Guards Limited for returning a bag containing over KSh 1 million in dollars.
Okogbue found the bag in the banking hall of an Ecobank branch in Abuja and discovered $10,000 inside. He reported the matter to the customer service manager, who took the bag and kept it until the owner came to claim it.
When the owner, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, arrived, he was interviewed by the customer service manager and given the bag. Okogbue was then taken to the manager and awarded for his honesty.
Okogbue revealed that he was tempted to keep the money but chose to return it to the bank. He said, 'I am not rich but those values have been put in me. If I had taken the money, I will be in problem, Hogan Guard, Ecobank will also be in problem.'
He added, 'I took the money to the toilet, checked if it was real or fake. I asked God if that was a temptation and then prayed. One part of me was telling me to take the money and run, another said I should return it.'
Okogbue's story was initially met with criticism and abuse on social media, but he has since been praised for his honesty.
Chukwuemeka Pindas, chief operating officer of Hogan Guards, said Okogbue displayed the core values of the organisation, adding that their efforts to be top-notch were not in vain.
This is not the first time a Nigerian security guard has been honoured for returning lost money. In July 2019, the Nigerian Air Force gave a special recognition to Aircraftman Bashir Umar, who returned missing 37,000 Euros (KSh 4.2 million) to the owner.
