Atuche: You're Convicted As Ruled-Supreme Court Affirms

Nigeria's apex court, the Supreme Court, has affirmed the conviction of Ex-Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Bank PHB, Francis Atuche over N25.7bn fraud charges.

The ruling, unanimously delivered on Friday, has brought to an end the lingering legal battle of over a decade.

According to the court, the appellant failed to provide sufficient evidence to overturn his conviction by the trial court and also affirmed by the Appeal Court.

The lead judgement read by Justice M.A.A. Adumein, reaffirmed the court's laid precedent which holds that when a trial court's assessment of a party's or witness's credibility is substantiated by documentary evidence, an appellate court should not disturb the lower court's decision, unless exceptional circumstances warrant intervention.

The Court also averred that Atuche failed to not give it any convincing reason to tamper wiith or question the concurrent finding of the trial and Appeal courts.

Consequently, the Court upheld his conviction, thereby aligning with the findings of the two courts. Atuche and his wife, Elizabeth, alongside the bank’s former chief financial officer, Ugo Anyanwu were first arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before Justice Okunnu of the High Court of Lagos state in 2011, on a 27-count charge involving a fraudulent scheme to defraud the bank of monies totaling N25.7bn.

On June 16, 2021, the court convicted and sentenced Atuche and Anyanwu, the trial Judge noting the defendants employed 'well-recognized' stock brokers to transfer the said money out of the bank under the pretext of loans and shares.

The court however, discharged and acquitted his wife.

“It was a well-planned, well-executed scheme but the bubble burst when the Central Bank of Nigeria intervened,” the judge noted. Apparently not satisfied with the ruling, the defendants approached the Appeal Court, hoping to upturn the judgement.

But the appellate court agreed with the trial court and affirmed their conviction but with their jail terms cut down to 12 years.