Fraud: Court Admits Evidence Against Defunct ex-Bank PHB MD, Atuche

Justice Sherifat Solebo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday, October 10, 2019, admitted in evidence documents tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against a former Managing Director of the defunct Bank PHB, Francis Atuche.

At the resumed sitting today, the prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, through the first prosecution witness, PW1, Oluwamuye Abayomi, a staff of Sterling Bank Plc, tendered the statement of account of one Kehinde Bami, statements of account of a firm, Damivok Ventures Limited, and several bank cheques purportedly issued on the directive of the defendant, which were all admitted in evidence by the court.

However, when Pinheiro sought to tender some documents through the second prosecution witness, PW2, Igueke Osikoya, a staff of Zenith Bank Plc, who was subpoenaed to present the document, counsel to the defendant, Paul Mgbeoma, opposed the admissibility of the documents.

Consequently, Pinheiro tendered the photocopy of the “subpoena”, which compelled the appearance of the second prosecution witness before the court.

In his response, Mgbeoma said the document was not duly certified and that it was not the original copy.

Justice Solebo held that “the document will be admitted in evidence due to the fact that I signed the subpoena.”

The Judge, therefore, admitted the document in evidence and further directed the PW2 to certify the document and come back to tender it.