The conviction of the former Managing Director of the now-defunct Bank PHB Plc, Mr. Francis Atuche, has been upheld by the Supreme Court after a 13-year trial.
In a unanimous judgement 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.
The apex court based its decision on previous rulings, which state that if a trial court’s decision regarding a party’s or witness’s conduct is backed by the presented documentary evidence, an appellate court should not interfere with the trial court’s decision.
The Court concluded that the appellant had not given it any reason to tamper with the concurrent finding of the two lower courts.
Mr. Atuche, his wife, Elizabeth and one Mr. Ugo Anyanwu, had been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) 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 27 counts of amended charge over N25.7 billion fraud.
On June 16, 2021, Justice Okunnu, in a judgement that lasted about 12 hours, convicted Atuche alongside a former Chief Financial Officer of the bank, Ugo Anyanwu.
The court convicted the duo on 21 out of the 27-count amended charges of conspiracy to commit felony and stealing brought against them by the EFCC.
Justice Okunnu held that the EFCC successfully proved its case against the convicts beyond reasonable doubt.
She freed Atuche’s wife, Elizabeth, because the EFCC failed to link her to the crime. The court insisted that suspicion, no matter how strong, cannot take the place of fact.
The judge held that it was not proven that she was aware of the source of the funds she received into her account from her husband and she had no powers to take any decision to influence the transaction.
The convicts were to serve their jail terms at the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Facility in Lagos.
But, dissatisfied with the judgement, the convicts approached the Appeal Court and on the June 23, 2022, the Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction of both men.
The appellate court also clarified that Atuche’s jail term, as handed down by the lower court, was six years concurrently, rather than 12 years, subsequently reducing Anyanwu’s sentence from 10 years to eight years.
They also upheld the discharge and acquittal of Atuche’s wife, Elizabeth.
During a subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court earlier this year, Senior Advocates of Nigeria Wole Olanipekun, Chief Anthony Idigbe, and Prof. Fidelis Oditah presented the appeal on behalf of Mr. Atuche against his conviction. Dr. Kemi Pinheiro, who held the fiat of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation, led the team of lawyers representing the State, including Senior Advocate of Nigeria Sebastine Hon.
The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision on Friday ultimately concluded the criminal case after more than 13 years.