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 Dr. Kemi Pinheiro, on behalf of the EFCC. The trio were arraigned on 27 counts of amended charge over N25.7 billion fraud.
