How Jibrin (Echocho), Adigwe, Ololo, Others Stole N87.5b From Afribank – EFCC — March 3, 2014 A prosecution witness, Emmanuel Al-Hassan on Monday gave a Lagos High Court in Igbosere a detailed account of how former Managing Director of the defunct Afribank Plc, Sebastian Adigwe and six others alleged stole the sum of N87.5 billion from the bank. Al-Hassan, an investigating officer with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), also gave the name of others who participated in the crime as former chairman of the bank, Osa Ogunde, former executive directors – Jibrin Isah, Isa Zailani, Chinedu Onyia, Henry Arogundade and Peter Ololo The prosecution witness was testifying at the resumed trial of the former bank chiefs, who were accused of stealing N87.5 billion from African by the EFCC before Justice Olabisi Akinlade. Al-Hassan, who was being led in evidence by the commission’s counsel, Dr. U Ekwueme also alleged that the directors granted questionable loans to different companies to buy shares of blue chip organisations but the sums were later diverted. The witness also said Adigwe and the other directors transferred N15 billion in favour of Rehoboth Asset Limited, which was approved as loan by the defendants at the 252nd board meeting of Afribank for the transferee to buy shares of blue chip companies on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The shares, Al-Hassan asserted, were not bought as agreed in the offer letter, while the sum was eventually transferred into AIL Securities Limited account onSeptember 15, 2008 through cheque No. 11418001 and cheque No. 11418002. According to the witness, the defendants also employed the same method to transfer another N15 billion in favour of Falcon Securities Limited on October 15, 2008. Prior to the transaction, the witness said, Afribank and Falcon had maintained a banker-customer relationship. Al-Hassan, however, alleged that another bank account was opened in Falcon Securities’ name with “zero naira” for the purposes of transferring the N15 billion credit facility. The N15 billion availed Falcon Securities as loan for the purchase of stocks of blue chip companies on the floor of the NSE, the witness claimed, later also found its way to AIL Securities account in two tranches of N7,811,000,000 and N7,142,400,000 on October 16, 2008.On March 12, 2009, Al-Hassan, disclosed, the directors of Afribank also transferred N12 billion in favour of Resolution Trust and Investment Company Limited “to augment the working capital of Resolution Trust” and “used documents to cover it up. “The N12 billion facility, the witness stated, was later transferred to the account of Falcon Securities. The witness also revealed that Ololo (the 7th defendant) is the managing director and majority shareholder of Resolution Trust and Investment Company Limited as well as Falcon Securities Limited. Justice Akinlade admitted and marked photocopies of the cheques detailing all the transactions as exhibits after Al-Hassan explained that the original copies were taken away by Baba Kura of the EFCC Abuja office during the tenure of Mrs. Farida Waziri and “all efforts to retrieve all the original copies proved abortive. “The matter was later adjourned at the instance of counsel for the prosecution till May 19 for Al-Hassan to continue with his testimony.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 10:20:22 +0000
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