Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has upheld the conviction of former Managing Director of the former Bank PHB Plc, Francis Atuche, in a N25.7 billion fraud case.
The court’s unanimous judgment, delivered by Justice Moore Adumein, further affirmed the findings of the trial court and the Court of Appeal, emphasising Atuche’s failure to dislodge their credibility assessment.
Recall that Atuche, along with the bank’s former Chief Financial Officer, Ugo Anyanwu, was originally arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2011.
After an extensive trial that culminated in a 12-hour judgment delivered by Justice Lateefat Okunnu of the High Court of Lagos State, Atuche and Anyanwu were convicted and sentenced to 12 years and 10 years jail terms, respectively.
The duo’s offence was misappropriation of funds under the guise of loans and shares, which was described as sophisticated and well-executed, leading to sizable losses for the bank until the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria revealed the fraud.
Despite Atuche’s appeal against the high court’s judgment, the Court of Appeal, in a subsequent ruling on June 23, 2022, affirmed the conviction, while reducing Atuche’s sentence to six years and Anyanwu’s to eight years.