A banker, Anieka Udoh has been arraigned by the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Office, over alleged $50,000 and N9.2m fraud.
Udoh was arraigned before Justice Saliu Seidu of
the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos on a five-count charge bordering
on conversion of funds for personal use and stealing.
Udoh, an employee of Ecobank Plc, was charged
alongside his employer, Ecobank Plc. However, when the case was called up, the
first defendant, Ecobank Plc, had no legal representative.
The prosecution counsel, Bilkisu Buhari, told the
court that she had "Proof of Service" of the charge served on the
bank. Consequently, Justice Seidu ordered the second defendant to take his
plea.
One of the counts reads: "That you, Ecobank
Plc and one Anieka Udoh, whilst being an employee of Eco Bank Plc sometime in
2009, at Lagos within the jurisdiction of the Honourable court, negligently
failed to exercise due diligence in relation to conduct of financial
transactions with Major General Umaru Mohammed and fraudulently converted Major
General Umaru Mohammed's Ecobank MasterCard Account No. 0015052989 from debit
card to credit card and consequently debited Major General Umaru Mohammed's
account in the sum of over USD 50,000 without the knowledge and authority of
Major General Umaru Mohammed."
Another count reads: "That you, Ecobank Plc
and one Anieka Udoh, whilst being an employee of Eco Bank Plc sometime in 2009,
at Lagos within the jurisdiction of the Honourable court, negligently failed to
exercise due diligence in relation to conduct of financial transactions with
Major General Umaru Mohammed and fraudulently converted Major General Umaru
Mohammed's Ecobank Domiciliary account to Naira account Number 0015052989
without the knowledge and authority of Major General Umaru Mohammed and
consequently left a debit of N9.2Million in the said Naira account."
The second defendant, Udoh, pleaded not guilty to
the charge when it was read to him.
In view of the defendant's plea, the prosecution
counsel, Buhari, asked the court for a trial date and prayed the court to
remand him in prison custody.
Counsel to the second defendant, O.J. Owoh, told
the court that he had yet to file a bail application due to the fact that he
received the charge two days ago.
He also prayed the court to remand his client in
the EFCC custody pending the filing and service of the bail application.
Justice Seidu adjourned the case to March 12,
2019 for commencement of trial and ordered the defendant to be remanded in
prison custody.
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