After about 13 years of trial, the Supreme Court, on Friday morning upheld the conviction of the former Managing Director of the defunct Bank PHB Plc, Mr Francis Atuche.
In the unanimous judgment read by Justice Moore Adumein, the Supreme Court held that the appellant, Francis Atuche, did not attempt to dislodge the finding of the trial court and the Court of Appeal on his credibility.
Mr. Atuche, his wife, Elizabeth and one Mr. Ugo Anyanwu had been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission , EFCCM in 2011 before Justice Lateefat Okunnu of the Lagos High Court in a prosecution that was handled by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Kemi Pinheiro on behalf of the EFCC.
The trio were arraigned on a 27 count amended information over a N25.7 billion fraud.
On June 16, 2021, Justice Okunnu in a judgment that lasted about 12 hours, convicted Atuche alongside a former Chief Financial Officer of the bank, Ugo Anyanwu.
Atuche and Anyanwu were sentenced 12 years and 10 years by the High Court.
However, it was reduced by the Court of Appeal, with Atuche getting six years while Anyanwu got eight years.
She freed Atuche’s wife, Elizabeth on the grounds that the EFCC failed to link her to the crime.
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