₦airaland Forum

njokuuche77:
You actually have a strong case.
In inventory management, responsibility follows control. You didn’t have:
* Formal role assignment
* Proper stock handover
* Sole access to the warehouse (cashier had the keys)
* Signed stock count records

So it’s hard to hold you fully accountable.
No stock count for 6 months is already a company control failure, not just your issue.
Put your concerns in writing, don’t sign anything accepting liability, and if needed, seek legal advice.
They can’t push a system failure on one person.

I like the fact that he understands what the role requires and his supposed responsibility. It shows that it's not just about the title but a keen sense to due procedure.

Niceguy0004:
I was in a haste to work after so long I was unemployed that I accepted everything shoved at me.

This is where your problem started from, even the cashier can pin his/her own negligence on you.

Store keeping is a very delicate and complex job on its own, it's also a porous job if proper bookkeeping is ignored.

See, there books have been compromised things have gone bad without proper checks and balances.
The least you could have done when you first accepted the role was to have gotten record of the closing and opening stock before proceeding, THAT IS THE BASIS.

martinskelly:
This is where your problem started from, even the cashier can pin his/her own negligence on you.

Store keeping is a very delicate and complex job on its own, it's also a porous job if proper bookkeeping is ignored.

See, there books have been compromised things have gone bad without proper checks and balances.
The least you could have done when you first accepted the role was to have gotten record of the closing and opening stock before proceeding, THAT IS THE BASIS.

You are absolutely right.

I know of a similar case where the storekeeper was only saved by her meticulous record-keeping and professionalism.

The account clerk, security and some other staff had made copies of the warehouse keys and were regularly stealing stock.

The new storekeeper saved her job (and even got promoted) because her due diligence led to the discovery of the stock discrepancies.

When she informed the director, a plan was put in place which exposed the culprits.

In this instance as reported by the OP, the harm has already been done:
-- No job description.
-- No initial stockcount.
-- No regular inventory checks.
-- No control over the warehouse.
-- Cashier has the warehouse keys and her husband is involved in same business.

The main goal now is for the OP to avoid being made the fall guy for whatever might have been pilfered.

It is highly advisable for him to quietly seek legal advice, and also start looking for another job.

Niceguy0004:
Good day everyone,

I would appreciate professional advice regarding a situation I’m currently facing at my workplace.

I have been working with a distribution company for about 8 months, performing duties in the capacity of a Storekeeper. However, during my first 6 months on duty, no stock count was conducted. When a stock count was eventually carried out, no variance was communicated to me, and the process was not formally documented or signed.

It is also important to note that although I have been functioning in a Storekeeper role, I was never formally onboarded into that position. I was not issued any official letter of assignment, nor was I given a job description to review and sign.

In addition, I did not have full control or security over the warehouse stock. I was not in possession of the warehouse keys; instead, the cashier retained custody of the keys and took them home daily. My understanding is that the previous Storekeeper had full custody of the keys.

Recently, a stock variance has been discovered, and the Regional Manager is holding me responsible and has indicated an intention to press charges. I have raised concerns regarding the lack of formal role assignment and absence of full control over the inventory, but these concerns have not been acknowledged.

Given these circumstances, I would greatly appreciate guidance on:

- My level of liability in this situation
- The implications of not being formally assigned the Storekeeper role
- The impact of shared or limited access to warehouse stock
- The best steps to take in protecting myself professionally and legally

Thank you in advance for your insights and support.

You're still writing English instead of getting a lawyer before the regional manager nail you court charges

ijayalolo:
Did you read the part where I said "if his hands are clean"?

All these are based on the assumption that he is innocent.



Thank you for your attention to this matter

when clean hands come to court let him use that line

Niceguy0004:
Good day everyone,

I would appreciate professional advice regarding a situation I’m currently facing at my workplace.

I have been working with a distribution company for about 8 months, performing duties in the capacity of a Storekeeper. However, during my first 6 months on duty, no stock count was conducted. When a stock count was eventually carried out, no variance was communicated to me, and the process was not formally documented or signed.

It is also important to note that although I have been functioning in a Storekeeper role, I was never formally onboarded into that position. I was not issued any official letter of assignment, nor was I given a job description to review and sign.

In addition, I did not have full control or security over the warehouse stock. I was not in possession of the warehouse keys; instead, the cashier retained custody of the keys and took them home daily. My understanding is that the previous Storekeeper had full custody of the keys.

Recently, a stock variance has been discovered, and the Regional Manager is holding me responsible and has indicated an intention to press charges. I have raised concerns regarding the lack of formal role assignment and absence of full control over the inventory, but these concerns have not been acknowledged.

Given these circumstances, I would greatly appreciate guidance on:

- My level of liability in this situation
- The implications of not being formally assigned the Storekeeper role
- The impact of shared or limited access to warehouse stock
- The best steps to take in protecting myself professionally and legally

Thank you in advance for your insights and support.

You cannot reasonably be held solely liable where you had no formal appointment, no documented stock handover, and no exclusive control of the warehouse.

Put your position in writing immediately. State the lack of role clarity, shared access (cashier holding keys), and absence of signed stock records.

For you to be liable, you should have FULL control of the warehouse

Cc the management

And you are sooooooo intelligent that you make decisions based solely on one side of the story

CorperKola:
It shows you lack unserstanding of how some businesses operate in this country

KingRabota:
And you are sooooooo intelligent that you make decisions based solely on one side of the story

I am saying its possible
You are the one that concluded hes a liar

So you are clearly the 'intelligent' one

I omly said you shouldnt be one sided. Listen to both parties before deciding
Proverbs 18:17

CorperKola:
I am saying its possible
You are the one that concluded hes a liar

So you are clearly the 'intelligent' one

bestman09:
You should tread carefully as the odds are seriously against you.

See them. Fear sellers. The average Nigerian mind has been so pushed to see fear even when they are forcing shiet into his mouth.

Niceguy0004:
I have been working with a distribution company for about 8 months, performing duties in the capacity of a Storekeeper.

I was never formally onboarded into that position. I was not issued any official letter of assignment, nor was I given a job description to review and sign.

You see all these things you wrote here?
I hope you have not been saying them in public to the hearing of your co-workers (snakes among them).

Don't say anything. Keep a lawyer informed about everything and Be patient. Let the company play their card and then you strike back with a proper punch. Sue them for enough money to last you for at least 2 years.

fear not. we have been here before.

U are working with theives and theybare trying to set u up. U cannot be held responsible for something u did not solely control, from the looks of it there are atleast 3 or 4 people with access to the store inventory. However u as the book keeper should take stock during handover and then daily or periodically to make sure ur stock is balanced but as for security that is beyound u cos other people have access to the keys.

U are only resposible for the book keeping details and reporting and not the security of the store itself. Anyone with access can be responsible. These are the facts on ground in the case.

free2ryhme:
when clean hands come to court let him use that line

Thank you for your attention to this matter

franvincoop:
You are a thief.
Just prepare for watery beans or take that money japa to another State.
The way you laid out the specific guidance you need, shows a level of Intelligence to steal with plausible deniability

🤣🤣🤣🤣

AllBlack:
You see all these things you wrote here?
I hope you have not been saying them in public to the hearing of your co-workers (snakes among them).

Don't say anything. Keep a lawyer informed about everything and Be patient. Let the company play their card and then you strike back with a proper punch. Sue them for enough money to last you for at least 2 years.

fear not. we have been here before.

Thank you for your input

femi4:
You cannot reasonably be held solely liable where you had no formal appointment, no documented stock handover, and no exclusive control of the warehouse.

Put your position in writing immediately. State the lack of role clarity, shared access (cashier holding keys), and absence of signed stock records.

For you to be liable, you should have FULL control of the warehouse

Cc the management

Thank you for your input

martinskelly:
This is where your problem started from, even the cashier can pin his/her own negligence on you.

Store keeping is a very delicate and complex job on its own, it's also a porous job if proper bookkeeping is ignored.

See, there books have been compromised things have gone bad without proper checks and balances.
The least you could have done when you first accepted the role was to have gotten record of the closing and opening stock before proceeding, THAT IS THE BASIS.

You're absolutely right, what's the way out going forward.

westlius:
Pls don’t always use the line the cashier is always with the keys


Let me give you a senecio
Am an Accountant (chartered in the making)
My younger sis got a job as an inventory officer, she experienced the same tin you are taking
I told her to always check her stock level and do a follow up with her books, as she does it regularly, and signs on them,
She notice stealing, shortage of goods, she spoke with the MD she shared are books with him, investigation begin quietly and the culprit was caught who holds the key.


Can I also shock you security can get assess to your store and move items when it’s late light, and when you don’t check your records periodically, the stealing will be much and it will be all wired back to you

Thank you so much. Are you now advising I should not write to the management but keep updating my books and records..?!

mctech:
Exactly. They may have colluded to steal company goods while setting you up to be the fall guy.

This is unfair...

naija1stnigar:
haa! Bro am very sorry to say this, you self no try o, how can you be in a warehouse and not take stocks for a whooping 8 months!!! Isn't there a tracking software on the computer to receive and dispatch goods? Once you receive any goods physically, you validate them and you make sure that what you have on your system tallies with your physical stock, anytime you receive, you must count to make sure it is correct before you validate, inventory Job is not a baby Job o, If you loose guard you go enter gbese o!! I just hope you find a solution to this, but don't let it happen next time.... Wish you the best.

Thank you for your input. I will be alerted all time from now...

Happy Sunday bro.
I am not angry ooo just have to put myself in the shoes of the proprietor and give it to you raw.

Now let me explain why it's more likely than not, that you are a thief.
Some of the basic principles for determination of guilt/innocence necessitate the scrutiny of alibi, intention, action, inaction, motive and plausible deniability.

I put it to you that you are guilty of theft because you started work without requesting for a stock count.
Who does that except for someone waiting to use this excuse later?
Moreover, you took salary for 8 months as a storekeeper with zero stock count?
What were you really doing there?
Furthermore, even when the stock was eventually counted after 8 months, you the "storekeeper" did not have a single idea of the products "in the store of which you are the keeper".

Ignorance is not an excuse before the law,
Imagine yourself a bank teller and the bank manager gives you an envelope in the morning and tells you it's your daily cash 100 million for customer withdrawal.
Wise one, What's the first thing you do then?
You count the cash and confirm the 100 million before you start paying out to clients.
If you start paying to clients before counting, all later stories na cartoon.
This application na universal even if na your Papa give you the money.
Bro, so if somebody give you 1 million cash now truly, tell me, wetin be your first instinct?
To count to confirm if it's complete or to spend?
In addition to that, a contract can be both verbal or written, so your excuse of formal signed onboarding

So therefore, your guilt started when you involved yourself in a continuing criminal enterprise and it would be wise of you to immediately get a better understanding of the previous storekeeper and why he left and you might as well be shocked.
Nevertheless, the fact that you started on day 1 as a storekeeper without knowing your stock and even till today you still don't know what you are keeping makes you guilty either by naivety (not negligence cuz u don't know shit about stock keeping)
or by AGGRAVATED theft, wilful action.

Let me tell you, why I would go for wilful action, you are a very intelligent individual, your initial submission shows a level of intelligence, that is intelligent enough to start day 1 with a piece of paper, taking stock of products and confirming it.
But this wise man took salary for 8 months, I'd find you guilty and order restitution of that 8 months salary cuz you were stealing and not working.
On what basis can you justify your 8 months salary? What stock, what products?
Sorry but you were on vacation for 8 months, here is the result now.
Even if you were not stealing alone, it is immaterial unless you can implicate the cashier because you are the storekeeper and for every single day you spent on vacation, you failed to check the stock in your keeping twice daily which would have let you catch the theft.
That thief can only be you, only you have the motive, alibi, opportunity, fake naivety, inaction, intent and intelligence to commit this theft and still have plausible deniability in this situation because the keys were not with you but with cashier and you were not in control of the security.
That theft was done with those same transport used to distribute those products, aggravated theft I said, wilful act,
Cashier receives cash for 100 pallets and the storekeeper loads the transport with 120 pallets and everyone gets a cut.
So leave security at night as nothing was stolen at night, there was no break and entry, intentional daylight robbery.
The cashier is the keeper of the cash while you are the keeper of the store.
If you did your job, you were supposed to have known and declared that products are missing immediately the day after the theft.
If you refused to do your job, you were profiting from the theft.
When cash is missing we will talk to cashier but now is product in the warehouse that are missing, so it's you Mr. Storekeeper.
For the fact that you took salary for 8 months and never weighed your liability, impact and implication if products were to go missing, shows that it was in your best interest for a stock not to be taken because you neither requested any when you commenced work nor did you take any daily stock.
This alone is where the law will break a bone.
If they put you in the box and give you a 1 page document to read, with 10 points about the roles and responsibilities of a storekeeper and when you finish reading it out loud and you were asked 10 questions on those same 10 points about the roles and responsibilities of a storekeeper vis a vis your job, you will answer "NO "10 times in a very shaky audible voice and descend that box with the highest humiliation of your life.


All this said and done, there might still be a feeling that you might really be a fall guy and really be innocent and the cashier and/or the loading labor/transport are playing a fast one on you, but the bar to prove this will be very high.
Does the warehouse have CCTV?
Can you prove this same thing has happened before? To the former storekeeper or the one before him?
The bar to prove your innocence is very high with limited time especially when management has lost Goods and might want you in prison before any discussion.

Your options,
Repay what is lost and avoid prison
Negotiate to pay with % of salary
Don't say a word and lawyer up asap.
If all this is not possible for you, better japa go another State asap.


If you would like to stay and fight, Good luck.


This long explanation is not only for OP, but those of whom, many are in prison today claiming they are innocent like that banker who refused to count his 100 million naira cash.
Who went to prison because of sheer naivety, educated but naive,the wise thieves, those who think because others have crossed the bridge, they can also cross and just then shit hits the fan.

Good luck to OP but try to settle or vanish even if innocent.
Don't stand and fight even if innocent, prisons are overcrowded but space still dey.

Niceguy0004:
I get why you’re angry, but throwing accusations without proof doesn’t make them true.
If you actually have facts, present them properly. If not, it’s better to hold back than to make claims you can’t defend. I’ve been clear about my position, and I stand on it.

Let me be direct: you are being set up as a scapegoat, and you need to fight back — strategically and immediately.
Here is my honest, frank assessment:

You Are in a Significantly Strong Position
The company's case against you is riddled with procedural failures that, in any fair tribunal or court, would severely undermine their ability to hold you liable. Here's why:
1. No formal assignment = No formal accountability
You cannot be held to the standards of a role you were never officially given. Accountability follows documented authority. If they never gave you a letter of appointment, job description, or formal onboarding into the Storekeeper role, they essentially never gave you the legal responsibility that comes with it. You were performing duties informally — that is their negligence, not yours.
2. The keys issue is potentially your strongest defense
This is critical. Custody of keys is not a minor administrative detail — it is the primary instrument of control over warehouse stock. The fact that the cashier held the keys and took them home daily means that at any given moment, stock could have been accessed, moved, or manipulated without your knowledge or presence. You cannot be accountable for inventory you did not have exclusive, secured access to. Full stop.
3. No stock count for 6 months is a red flag — against them
A responsible company conducts regular stock counts precisely to identify and isolate variances early. The 6-month gap is a massive operational failure on management's part. That delay makes it virtually impossible to pinpoint when the variance occurred, who was responsible, or even whether the variance existed before you arrived.
4. No signed documentation of the stock count = No valid baseline
A stock count that was never formally communicated, documented, or signed off is essentially inadmissible as evidence against you. You cannot be held accountable for a discrepancy derived from a process you were not formally made part of.

What You Should Do — Right Now
Immediately:

Write a detailed, dated memo to HR and your line manager (or Regional Manager) formally restating all your concerns — no formal appointment, no job description, no key custody, no documented stock count. Put it in writing. Email is best, so there is a timestamp.
Do not sign anything that suggests you accept responsibility for the variance.
Do not make any verbal admissions, even casually. Anything you say can and will be used against you.

Collect evidence:

Any messages (WhatsApp, email, etc.) showing you raised concerns about your role or access.
Any witness who can confirm the cashier held the keys.
Records showing you were never formally onboarded.

Seek legal advice urgently:

Consult a labor lawyer or employment attorney as soon as possible, especially given the threat of "pressing charges." In many jurisdictions, pressing criminal charges for stock loss without evidence of personal culpability or theft is extremely difficult — but you need a professional to assess your specific legal environment.
Contact your country's labor commission or equivalent body. What has been done to you — holding you accountable for a role you were never formally assigned — may itself constitute an unfair labor practice.


My Bottom Line
The Regional Manager is attempting to transfer the consequences of management's operational failures onto you. The lack of formal appointment, the absence of key custody, the undocumented stock count, and the 6-month delay are not your failures — they are the company's. You did not create this vulnerability; they did.
Do not be intimidated into silence or guilt. Protect yourself assertively, document everything going forward, and get legal counsel. You have more to stand on than they want you to believe.

Note: This is my strong opinion based on the facts as presented. I am not a lawyer, and this does not constitute formal legal advice. Please consult a qualified legal professional for guidance specific to your jurisdiction.

Niceguy0004:
Good day everyone,

I would appreciate professional advice regarding a situation I’m currently facing at my workplace.

I have been working with a distribution company for about 8 months, performing duties in the capacity of a Storekeeper. However, during my first 6 months on duty, no stock count was conducted. When a stock count was eventually carried out, no variance was communicated to me, and the process was not formally documented or signed.

It is also important to note that although I have been functioning in a Storekeeper role, I was never formally onboarded into that position. I was not issued any official letter of assignment, nor was I given a job description to review and sign.

In addition, I did not have full control or security over the warehouse stock. I was not in possession of the warehouse keys; instead, the cashier retained custody of the keys and took them home daily. My understanding is that the previous Storekeeper had full custody of the keys.

Recently, a stock variance has been discovered, and the Regional Manager is holding me responsible and has indicated an intention to press charges. I have raised concerns regarding the lack of formal role assignment and absence of full control over the inventory, but these concerns have not been acknowledged.

Given these circumstances, I would greatly appreciate guidance on:

- My level of liability in this situation
- The implications of not being formally assigned the Storekeeper role
- The impact of shared or limited access to warehouse stock
- The best steps to take in protecting myself professionally and legally

Thank you in advance for your insights and support.

I want to seriously ask.

What is exactly the role of a storekeeper?
And lets say the organisation is a restaurant. What is the function of a storekeeper there?

ridwintin89:
If you are the only storekeeper in that place.

The variance would be called on you.

Your mistake was working blindly without knowing the implications.

You don't just received or issued out inventory without proper control.

You sound educated but this is ignorant.

Your explanation shows you knew the right process but refused to indulge in it.

Storekeeper is accountable for inventory in their care.

Your only defense is to play ignorant of the process.

Just present yourself as a store runners whose responsibility is to receive or issue inventory.

Don't say you are not accountable,just say what you do was based on instructions to receive or issue out.

Hello.

I want to ask.

What is the real function of a storekeeper in an organisation?
Lets say in a restaurant now, what is the role of the storekeeper there?

Evangelisttj:
I have been an HR for 8 years in Nigeria and I can tell you that documentations that you have and can have from here on out are the only things that can help you in this case. What you’ve described shows clear gaps in process and control.

In practice, accountability for stock typically requires:
Formal role assignment
Clear handover/stock count records
Sole or controlled access to the warehouse

From your explanation, none of these were properly in place, which weakens the basis for holding you solely responsible.
That said, in Nigeria, employers may still try to enforce accountability regardless of these gaps.

What you should do now:
Document everything (messages, instructions, timelines)
Put your concerns in writing (email/letter)
Avoid signing any document admitting liability without proper review
If possible, seek legal advice

Also, the issue of the cashier holding warehouse keys is a major control breach and should be highlighted.

Stay calm, be factual, and protect yourself with documentation.

What is the meaning of variance pls?

And have you done a storekeeper job before?

I would love to know what storekeeper really do at workplaces, most especially in restaurants.

holyDaniel:
Let's me start like this,
First, it's very difficult not to see variance after stock count especially when you are controlling a large inventory.
Secondly, as a store keeper the responsibility of every stock in the warehouse is on you and you should be held accountable for any thing that's happened to any stock, that is why you should have been doing regular stock count without being told.
Thirdly, if you can explain what causes the variance you are free but if you can't explain then accept the blame. Thanks

If you are honest and if your hands are very clean, get a good lawyer as soon as possible if you dont want to eat watery beans.

YOUNGELDER1:
You thief abi abi you no thief?

You do the storekeeper in a restaurant?

Niceguy0004:
You're absolutely right, I know the process but I was waiting on the concerned authority to release full security of stock in my care which never happened. I have always wondered as a Storekeeper I do not have the full control of the storage area where the cashier has to be in charge of the warehouse key.
I'll do as advised my only defense is to declare I was instructed on only what to receive and what to issue out. Thanks for your input.

Love800:
I want to seriously ask.

What is exactly the role of a storekeeper?
And lets say the organisation is a restaurant. What is the function of a storekeeper there?

Use Google for broader knowledge.

Receiving, issuing, keeping, documentating and accountability ( track inventory and taking ownership).

Have worked with several store officers that fails to understand any variance would be charged on them.

But my understanding was that the word storekeeper had turned to a layman word.

You see people that cannot read or write perfectly as a storekeeper.

What did you expect??

Love800:
You do the storekeeper in a restaurant?

Distributor of flour mill

Crunchy12:
Let me be direct: you are being set up as a scapegoat, and you need to fight back — strategically and immediately.
Here is my honest, frank assessment:

You Are in a Significantly Strong Position
The company's case against you is riddled with procedural failures that, in any fair tribunal or court, would severely undermine their ability to hold you liable. Here's why:
1. No formal assignment = No formal accountability
You cannot be held to the standards of a role you were never officially given. Accountability follows documented authority. If they never gave you a letter of appointment, job description, or formal onboarding into the Storekeeper role, they essentially never gave you the legal responsibility that comes with it. You were performing duties informally — that is their negligence, not yours.
2. The keys issue is potentially your strongest defense
This is critical. Custody of keys is not a minor administrative detail — it is the primary instrument of control over warehouse stock. The fact that the cashier held the keys and took them home daily means that at any given moment, stock could have been accessed, moved, or manipulated without your knowledge or presence. You cannot be accountable for inventory you did not have exclusive, secured access to. Full stop.
3. No stock count for 6 months is a red flag — against them
A responsible company conducts regular stock counts precisely to identify and isolate variances early. The 6-month gap is a massive operational failure on management's part. That delay makes it virtually impossible to pinpoint when the variance occurred, who was responsible, or even whether the variance existed before you arrived.
4. No signed documentation of the stock count = No valid baseline
A stock count that was never formally communicated, documented, or signed off is essentially inadmissible as evidence against you. You cannot be held accountable for a discrepancy derived from a process you were not formally made part of.

What You Should Do — Right Now
Immediately:

Write a detailed, dated memo to HR and your line manager (or Regional Manager) formally restating all your concerns — no formal appointment, no job description, no key custody, no documented stock count. Put it in writing. Email is best, so there is a timestamp.
Do not sign anything that suggests you accept responsibility for the variance.
Do not make any verbal admissions, even casually. Anything you say can and will be used against you.

Collect evidence:

Any messages (WhatsApp, email, etc.) showing you raised concerns about your role or access.
Any witness who can confirm the cashier held the keys.
Records showing you were never formally onboarded.

Seek legal advice urgently:

Consult a labor lawyer or employment attorney as soon as possible, especially given the threat of "pressing charges." In many jurisdictions, pressing criminal charges for stock loss without evidence of personal culpability or theft is extremely difficult — but you need a professional to assess your specific legal environment.
Contact your country's labor commission or equivalent body. What has been done to you — holding you accountable for a role you were never formally assigned — may itself constitute an unfair labor practice.


My Bottom Line
The Regional Manager is attempting to transfer the consequences of management's operational failures onto you. The lack of formal appointment, the absence of key custody, the undocumented stock count, and the 6-month delay are not your failures — they are the company's. You did not create this vulnerability; they did.
Do not be intimidated into silence or guilt. Protect yourself assertively, document everything going forward, and get legal counsel. You have more to stand on than they want you to believe.

Note: This is my strong opinion based on the facts as presented. I am not a lawyer, and this does not constitute formal legal advice. Please consult a qualified legal professional for guidance specific to your jurisdiction.

Thank you for this details input. I do really appreciate. I am sending a mail to the HR while I cc the regional manager.

franvincoop:
Happy Sunday bro.
I am not angry ooo just have to put myself in the shoes of the proprietor and give it to you raw.

Now let me explain why it's more likely than not, that you are a thief.
Some of the basic principles for determination of guilt/innocence necessitate the scrutiny of alibi, intention, action, inaction, motive and plausible deniability.

I put it to you that you are guilty of theft because you started work without requesting for a stock count.
Who does that except for someone waiting to use this excuse later?
Moreover, you took salary for 8 months as a storekeeper with zero stock count?
What were you really doing there?
Furthermore, even when the stock was eventually counted after 8 months, you the "storekeeper" did not have a single idea of the products "in the store of which you are the keeper".

Ignorance is not an excuse before the law,
Imagine yourself a bank teller and the bank manager gives you an envelope in the morning and tells you it's your daily cash 100 million for customer withdrawal.
Wise one, What's the first thing you do then?
You count the cash and confirm the 100 million before you start paying out to clients.
If you start paying to clients before counting, all later stories na cartoon.
This application na universal even if na your Papa give you the money.
Bro, so if somebody give you 1 million cash now truly, tell me, wetin be your first instinct?
To count to confirm if it's complete or to spend?
In addition to that, a contract can be both verbal or written, so your excuse of formal signed onboarding

So therefore, your guilt started when you involved yourself in a continuing criminal enterprise and it would be wise of you to immediately get a better understanding of the previous storekeeper and why he left and you might as well be shocked.
Nevertheless, the fact that you started on day 1 as a storekeeper without knowing your stock and even till today you still don't know what you are keeping makes you guilty either by naivety (not negligence cuz u don't know shit about stock keeping)
or by AGGRAVATED theft, wilful action.

Let me tell you, why I would go for wilful action, you are a very intelligent individual, your initial submission shows a level of intelligence, that is intelligent enough to start day 1 with a piece of paper, taking stock of products and confirming it.
But this wise man took salary for 8 months, I'd find you guilty and order restitution of that 8 months salary cuz you were stealing and not working.
On what basis can you justify your 8 months salary? What stock, what products?
Sorry but you were on vacation for 8 months, here is the result now.
Even if you were not stealing alone, it is immaterial unless you can implicate the cashier because you are the storekeeper and for every single day you spent on vacation, you failed to check the stock in your keeping twice daily which would have let you catch the theft.
That thief can only be you, only you have the motive, alibi, opportunity, fake naivety, inaction, intent and intelligence to commit this theft and still have plausible deniability in this situation because the keys were not with you but with cashier and you were not in control of the security.
That theft was done with those same transport used to distribute those products, aggravated theft I said, wilful act,
Cashier receives cash for 100 pallets and the storekeeper loads the transport with 120 pallets and everyone gets a cut.
So leave security at night as nothing was stolen at night, there was no break and entry, intentional daylight robbery.
The cashier is the keeper of the cash while you are the keeper of the store.
If you did your job, you were supposed to have known and declared that products are missing immediately the day after the theft.
If you refused to do your job, you were profiting from the theft.
When cash is missing we will talk to cashier but now is product in the warehouse that are missing, so it's you Mr. Storekeeper.
For the fact that you took salary for 8 months and never weighed your liability, impact and implication if products were to go missing, shows that it was in your best interest for a stock not to be taken because you neither requested any when you commenced work nor did you take any daily stock.
This alone is where the law will break a bone.
If they put you in the box and give you a 1 page document to read, with 10 points about the roles and responsibilities of a storekeeper and when you finish reading it out loud and you were asked 10 questions on those same 10 points about the roles and responsibilities of a storekeeper vis a vis your job, you will answer "NO "10 times in a very shaky audible voice and descend that box with the highest humiliation of your life.


All this said and done, there might still be a feeling that you might really be a fall guy and really be innocent and the cashier and/or the loading labor/transport are playing a fast one on you, but the bar to prove this will be very high.
Does the warehouse have CCTV?
Can you prove this same thing has happened before? To the former storekeeper or the one before him?
The bar to prove your innocence is very high with limited time especially when management has lost Goods and might want you in prison before any discussion.

Your options,
Repay what is lost and avoid prison
Negotiate to pay with % of salary
Don't say a word and lawyer up asap.
If all this is not possible for you, better japa go another State asap.


If you would like to stay and fight, Good luck.


This long explanation is not only for OP, but those of whom, many are in prison today claiming they are innocent like that banker who refused to count his 100 million naira cash.
Who went to prison because of sheer naivety, educated but naive,the wise thieves, those who think because others have crossed the bridge, they can also cross and just then shit hits the fan.

Good luck to OP but try to settle or vanish even if innocent.
Don't stand and fight even if innocent, prisons are overcrowded but space still dey.

You are so on point and I appreciate ur reversal of your fowl words. I am sure u didn't read through my post very. Stock count was only not done for 6 months because the warehouse was very small and stocks were arranged and piled up so no space to count at all so the regional manager relax when stocks will be out of the warehouse a bit. I started working in October but in March, a stock count was done between myself and the regional manager. The figure counted for each stocks was never documented and transferred to me through a signed agreement but was only communicated verbally that stock count was done, this was never the standard I know. Another point is that some stock were
never rearranged before counting so we can be sure of the actual figures cos the regional manager instructed we spot check a certain stock which I am having variance with currently. So since the stock count in March I have been taking my stock adequately. The previous storekeeper left with a debt of 2M and the StoreKeeper before that one made away with 3.6M...
I am also very concerned about the key in the possession of the cashier cos the regional manager has eluded her and wanted to push the variance on me cos I hold the title of the StoreKeeper.