N25.7bn Theft: EFCC Appeals Atuche’s Discharge

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has urged the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal to upturn a judgment of a Lagos State High Court which freed a former Managing Director of the defunct Bank PHB, Francis Atuche, of N25.7bn theft charges filed against him. Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, after declining jurisdiction to try the case, had on June 22, 2015 struck out the 27 counts filed against Atuche, his wife, Elizabeth, and a former Chief Financial Officer of Bank PHB, Ugo Anyanwu.

The judge faulted the EFCC for filing the case before the state high court rather than the Federal High Court. Lawal-Akapo, in his ruling, said he was bound by the decisions of the Court of Appeal in the cases of a former Managing Director of Finbank Plc, Mr. Okey Nwosu, and a former MD of the defunct Intercontinental Bank, Dr. Erastus Akingbola, who were freed by the appellate court. The judge held, “The allegation of purchase of shares and stocks is contained in 15 out of the 27 counts brought against the accused. The case falls squarely within the precinct of the decision of the Court of Appeal in Okey Nwosu as well as Erastus Akingbola’s case. “The decision of the Court of Appeal becomes the extant law on the subject to the effect that any allegation of purchase of shares and stocks in any manner or colouration falls within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court. “The Federal High Court, as opposed to the State High Court, has jurisdiction pursuant to Section 211(d)(h) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.” But in an appeal against Lawal-Akapo’s ruling, counsel for the EFCC, Mr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), said the case against Atuche and others was criminal, arguing that Section 252(3) of the Constitution did not confer exclusive jurisdiction on the Federal High Court to try criminal matters. Pinheiro pointed out that counts one to 10 dealt with the alleged stealing of money belonging to the bank while count 11 to 27 dealt with the allegation of conversion of the monies to personal use. The EFCC counsel said Lawal-Akapo also erred in law when he struck out counts 1 to 24 and 26 of the charges against Atuche and others when the defendants had not prayed for the counts to be struck out. He said the court had become charitable by granting reliefs and orders not sought for by the defendants. Pinheiro said the court ignored the provisions of Section 152 and 153 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2011 when it struck out all the counts against the defendants. He also contended against the ruling of the court that it was bound on the principle of stare decisis following the earlier decisions of the appellate court in the case of Nwosu and Akingbola. The EFCC is praying the appellate court to set aside the June 22, 2015 ruling of Lawal-Akapo. It also wants the appellate court to make an order directing the continuation of trial before Justice Lateefa Okunnu also of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja.