The Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee has re-arraigned the previous Managing Director of the defunct Financial institution PHB Plc, Francis Atuche, alongside two others, on fees of forgery and conspiracy.
In accordance with a press release on Monday through X, the re-arraignment occurred on Monday, earlier than Justice O. O. Abike-Fadipe on the Particular Offences Court docket in Ikeja, Lagos.
Atuche was charged alongside Nnosiri Joachim, also called Ifeanyi, and Uguru Onyike, in a nine-count indictment involving allegations of forging board resolutions of firms to defraud monetary establishments.
One of many fees reads, “That you just, Mr. Francis Atuche, Nnosiri Joachim (a.okay.a Ifeanyi), and Uguru Onyike, on or about 4th day of March 2013, in Lagos, inside the Ikeja Judicial Division, with intent to defraud, conspired to commit felony to wit: forgery of a doc titled: ‘BOARD RESOLUTION’ of Future View Securities Restricted dated seventeenth December 2007.”
One other rely alleged that Joachim fraudulently used a solid “Board Decision of Trajek Nigeria Restricted” dated December 15, 2007, and offered it as real to Keystone Financial institution Restricted.
The defendants, who had initially been arraigned earlier than Justice Habeeb Abiru and later Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, pleaded not responsible to the fees.
Counsel for the prosecution, Fanen Anum, knowledgeable the courtroom that the case was beginning afresh (de novo) and requested trial dates.
Defence counsel Anthony Ejere and Clement Onwuenwunor, SAN, efficiently argued for his or her purchasers to stay on the bail beforehand granted by Justice Onigbanjo.
In a quick ruling, Justice Abike-Fadipe upheld the defendants’ continued bail and adjourned the trial to Might 6, 7, 8, 13, 20, and 27, 2025.
“Atuche’s contemporary points with the EFCC began when he lately contacted Nnosiri, an Workplace Assistant with Keystone Financial institution’s Central Sharing Companies Centre in Lagos, to ship some alleged solid paperwork to the Financial institution’s company headquarters in Lagos for onward presentation in courtroom as displays in an on-going case between him and the Fee earlier than Justice Lateefat Okunnu.
“The solid paperwork that had been lacking since October 2009 are the Board’s resolutions of Future View Securities Restricted, Additional Oil Restricted and Trajek Nigeria Restricted,” the assertion added.
