N25.7bn fraud: S’Court affirms six-year jail for ex-Bank PHB MD, Atuche

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has upheld the conviction of former Managing Director of the defunct Bank PHB Plc, Francis Atuche, in a high-profile N25.7 billion fraud case that has spanned over a decade.
The court’s unanimous judgment, delivered by Justice Moore Adumein on Friday, June 28, solidified the findings of the trial court and the Court of Appeal, emphasising Atuche’s failure to dislodge their credibility assessment.
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 scheme orchestrated by the convicts, involving misappropriation of funds under the guise of loans and shares, 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.
Furthermore, Atuche’s wife, Elizabeth, was discharged and acquitted due to the prosecution’s failure to establish her direct involvement in the fraudulent activities.
Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), and Prof. Fidelis Oditah (SAN), led the legal defence for Atuche while Dr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) led the team of lawyers for the plaintiff, including Sebastine Hon (SAN).