The Supreme Court has confirmed the six-year prison sentence for Francis Atuche, the former Managing Director of the now-defunct Bank PHB. Atuche was convicted of fraud involving N25.7 billion.
In a unanimous decision on Friday, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court dismissed Atuche’s appeal, describing it as without merit. The judgment, delivered by Justice Moore Adumein on behalf of Justice Habeeb Abiru, stated that Atuche failed to provide sufficient grounds to overturn the lower courts’ decisions.
“This court has not been given any reason to tamper with the concurrent findings of the two lower courts in this appeal. This appeal is totally lacking in merit. This appeal fails and it is hereby dismissed,” Justice Adumein said.
The Supreme Court’s ruling affirms the June 23, 2022 decision of the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which had upheld Atuche’s conviction on 21 of 27 charges. However, the Court of Appeal had reduced Atuche’s original 12-year sentence, handed down by the Lagos State High Court, to six years.
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecuted Atuche, his wife Elizabeth, and former Chief Financial Officer of Bank PHB, Ugo Anyanwu, before Justice Lateefat Okunnu of the Lagos State High Court. On June 16, 2021, Justice Okunnu convicted Atuche and Anyanwu, sentencing Atuche to 12 years and Anyanwu to 10 years in prison. The judge acquitted Atuche’s wife, stating that the prosecution could not prove her involvement in the crime.
Justice Okunnu noted, “Suspicion, no matter how strong, cannot take the place of fact,” and added that it was not proven that Elizabeth Atuche knew about the source of the funds received from her husband.
While the Court of Appeal reduced Atuche’s sentence to six years and Anyanwu’s to eight years, it upheld the acquittal of Elizabeth Atuche.
The Supreme Court’s decision finalizes the legal proceedings, reinforcing the convictions and sentences of those involved in the significant fraud case.