LAGOS, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Relief on Monday came the way of fomer Managing Director of BankPHB, Mr. Francis Atuche, his wife, Elizabeth and a former Chief Financial Officer of the bank, Mr. Ugo Anyanwu, when a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja dismissed the N25.7 billion criminal charge preferred against them.
The three persons were being prosecuted by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly stealing N25.7 billion from the bank.
In a ruling delivered by the trial judge, Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, the court held that it was duty bound to comply with the decisions of Court of Appeal in the appeal of Okey Nwosu and Erastus Akingbola.
The judge noted that the prosecution, in its submission, was right to say that counts one to ten of the charge was anchored on stealing which falls within the purview of the jurisdiction of the state high court.
However, the judge maintained that the prosecution did not make any submission to as whether counts 11 to 27 have any nexus with shares and stocks.
“The case tallies with Okey Nwosu’s case. Counts one to ten are within the ambit of the criminal laws of Lagos State because they deal with stealing. Counsel to the commission did not make any submission as to whether counts 11 to 27 have any nexus with shares and stocks. The criminal charge is hereby struck out and the accused persons are hereby discharged,” the judge ruled.
It will be recalled that the EFCC had asked the court to adjourn its ruling on an application filed by Atuche seeking to quash the theft charges preferred against him indefinitely.
In the application, dated April 2, and filed by its counsel, Mr. Dele Adesina (SAN), the commission urged the court to adjourn the ruling pending the outcome of its appeal against the Court of Appeal judgment of November 21, 2013 at the Supreme Court.
The appellate court had, in the judgment, struck out the theft charges preferred against a former Managing Director of Finbank Plc, Mr. Okey Nwosu and others for lack of jurisdiction.
The former bank chief, in an application, had asked the court to quash the charge, arguing that like Nwosu’s case, the state high court had no jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
His counsel, Mr. Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), had maintained that the cases were similar because they emanated from capital market transactions.
Oyetibo said the charges against Atuche bordered on issues which derived from capital market transactions over which he said only a Federal High Court could adjudicate.
The counsel pointed the attention of the court to the decision of the Court of Appeal, which, on November 21, 2014, struck out the theft charges levelled against a former Managing Director of Finbank Plc, (Nwosu) and others.
“The appellate court held that such capital market-based matter was an exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court,” he added.
Oyetibo also referred the court to the December 31, 2014 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, in the case of Mr. Erastus Akingbola against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to him, the appellate court struck out the case against Akingbola, a former Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank Plc, on the same grounds.
Credit: Tribune (Nigeria)
