by Nurat Uthman
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has re-arraigned the former Managing Director of the defunct Bank PHB Plc, Francis Atuche, alongside two others, on charges of forgery and conspiracy.
According to a statement on Monday via X, the re-arraignment took place on Monday, before Justice O. O. Abike-Fadipe at the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos.
Atuche was charged alongside Nnosiri Joachim, also known as Ifeanyi, and Uguru Onyike, in a nine-count indictment involving allegations of forging board resolutions of companies to defraud financial institutions.
One of the charges reads, “That you, Mr. Francis Atuche, Nnosiri Joachim (a.k.a Ifeanyi), and Uguru Onyike, on or about 4th day of March 2013, in Lagos, within the Ikeja Judicial Division, with intent to defraud, conspired to commit felony to wit: forgery of a document titled: ‘BOARD RESOLUTION’ of Future View Securities Limited dated 17th December 2007.”
Another count alleged that Joachim fraudulently used a forged “Board Resolution of Trajek Nigeria Limited” dated December 15, 2007, and presented it as genuine to Keystone Bank Limited.
The defendants, who had initially been arraigned before Justice Habeeb Abiru and later Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Counsel for the prosecution, Fanen Anum, informed the court that the case was starting afresh (de novo) and requested trial dates.
Defence counsel Anthony Ejere and Clement Onwuenwunor, SAN, successfully argued for their clients to remain on the bail previously granted by Justice Onigbanjo.
In a brief ruling, Justice Abike-Fadipe upheld the defendants’ continued bail and adjourned the trial to May 6, 7, 8, 13, 20, and 27, 2025.
“Atuche’s fresh issues with the EFCC started when he recently contacted Nnosiri, an Office Assistant with Keystone Bank’s Central Sharing Services Centre in Lagos, to deliver some alleged forged documents to the Bank’s corporate headquarters in Lagos for onward presentation in court as exhibits in an on-going case between him and the Commission before Justice Lateefat Okunnu.
“The forged documents that had been missing since October 2009 are the Board’s resolutions of Future View Securities Limited, Extra Oil Limited and Trajek Nigeria Limited,” the statement added.
