EFCC re-arraigns Atuche, ex-director for ‘reckless’ loans

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday re-arraigned former Managing Director of Bank PHB, Mr. Francis Atuche, and an ex-Executive Director of the bank, Mr. Charles Ojo, before a Federal High Court, Lagos for granting loans without collaterals.

The accused were re-arraigned before Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia on 45 counts of banking malpractices which they had first pleaded not guilty to on October 20, 2009.

Ofili-Ajumogobia became the third judge to preside over the matter.

The matter was transferred from the first trial judge, Justice Akinjide Ajakaiye – upon his retirement – to Justice Binta Nyako, who was recently posted out of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court.

Three years after the case was instituted against the accused, it needed to begin afresh since it was to be taken over by a new judge.

At the arraignment on Wednesday, both Atuche and Ojo once again pleaded not guilty to the charge.

They were accused of recklessly granting loans without adequate securities to companies in which they had interest.

They also allegedly falsified the bank’s records. Atuche was also accused of exceeding his loan approval limit. All the transactions, informing the charge, amounted to over N125bn.

They were also charged with acquisition of the bank’s shares through proxies and without prior approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria and not ensuring the correctness of BankPHB’s June 2009 monthly returns.

It will be recalled that Atuche and others, including his wife, Elizabeth, currently face three separate charges of stealing Bank PHB’s money before Justices Adeniyi Onigbanjo and Lateefat Okunnu, both of the Lagos High Court, in Ikeja.

The lead prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinhero (SAN), had after the arraignment on Wednesday, asked that a date be fixed for the trial.

Defence lawyers, Abubakar Shamsudeen and Olumide Adefila, did not object to the fixing of a date for the trial.

They urged the court to allow their clients remain on the bail granted them in 2009 by Ajakaiye, which was adopted  by Nyako.

However, Ofili-Ajumogobia said she could not accept an oral application for bail.

She therefore directed them to file fresh bail applications within seven days.

She fixed January 16, 2013 for the hearing of the bail applications and possible commencement of the trial.

She however allowed them to continue enjoying the earlier bail granted them, pending the determination of their new applications in January.