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Tag: Danjuma Ocholi

  • Court adjourns trial of ex-Finbank MD ‘sine die’

    Court adjourns trial of ex-Finbank MD ‘sine die’

    Justice Lateefat Okunnu of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja on Monday adjourned sine die (indefinitely), the trial of a former Managing Director of Finbank Plc, Okey Nwosu and three former directors of the bank.

    Nwosu, Dayo Famoroti, Danjuma Ocholi and Agnes Ebubedike were charged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly stealing N10.9 billion belonging to the bank.

    In the ruling delivered yesterday, Justice Okunnu adjourned the matter indefinitely sequel to three judgments delivered on November 21 by the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division.

    The Court of Appeal struck out the theft charges preferred against Nwosu, Famoroti and Ebubedike by the Commission.

    The court held that the High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the charges.

    According to the upper court, a state high court cannot entertain matters arising from capital market transactions.

    The appellate court held that matters that are capital market-based case can only be handled by the Federal High Court.

    Ocholi’s counsel Lanre Ogunlesi (SAN) urged the court to dismiss the charge against his client in view of the Appeal Court’s judgment.

    EFCC’s counsel Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), however, informed the court that the prosecution has appealed “the three judgments of the Appeal court at the Supreme Court”.

    Jacobs, subsequently, asked the court to adjourn the matter indefinitely in the interest of justice.

  • Court adjourns Okey Nwosu’s trial indefinitely

    Justice Lateefat Okunnu of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, on Monday adjourned the trial of a former managing director of Finbank Plc, Mr. Okey Nwosu and three others indefinitely.

    Nwosu and three former directors – Dayo Famoroti, Danjuma Ocholi and Agnes Ebubedike were charged for allegedly stealing N10.9 billion, belonging to Finbank (now First City Monument Bank).

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Okunnu’s decision to adjourn the matter indefinitely was premised on three separate judgments delivered by the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on November 21.

    The Court of Appeal had, in the judgments, struck out the theft charges preferred against Nwosu, Famoroti and Ebubedike by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The appellate court held that the Lagos High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the charges because they emanated from capital market transactions.

    It also held that such a capital market-based case should be handled by a Federal High Court.

    During Monday’s proceedings, the counsel to Ocholi, Mr. Lanre Ogunlesi (SAN) urged the court to dismiss the charge against his client because of the appeal court’s judgments.

    The EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), however, informed the court that the prosecution had filed an appeal against the three judgments at the Supreme Court.

    “We have filed a notice of appeal in respect of the three judgments.

    “The records have been compiled and our brief will also be filed this week.

    “In the interest of justice, the matter should be adjourned sine die,” Jacobs said.

     

  • Ex-Finbank chiefs ask court to dismiss theft charge

    Ex-Finbank chiefs ask court to dismiss theft charge

    A former Managing Director of Finbank Plc, Okey Nwosu and his co-defendants, on Monday asked a Lagos High Court, Ikeja, to dismiss the N10.9 billion theft charge preferred against them.

    Nwosu and three former directors of the bank made the request in separate no-case submissions filed by their counsel.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nwosu is standing trial alongside the trio of Dayo Famoroti, Danjuma Ocholi and Agnes Ebubedike before Justice Lateefat Okunnu.

    According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the former bank chiefs are facing a 26-count charge of stealing to which they had pleaded not guilty.

    The EFCC had closed its case on June 28 after calling nine witnesses to testify against the bank chiefs.

    At the resumed hearing of the case on Monday, the defendants’ counsel — Messers James Ocholi (SAN), Seyi Sowemimo (SAN) and Okorie Kalu — said they had filed no-case submissions.

    They told the court that they filed the applications because no prima-facie case had been established against the defendants to warrant them to open their defence.

    The EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), opposed the applications, saying the prosecution had filed its counter-affidavit to the applications which had been served on the defendants.

    Justice Okunnu adjourned the matter till September 30 for hearing of the applications.

     

  • Court orders release of ex-Finbank MD’s passport

    Court orders release of ex-Finbank MD’s passport

    A Lagos High Court in Ikeja on Friday granted the application by a former managing director of Finbank Plc, Okey Nwosu, seeking for the release of his international passport for renewal.

    Justice Lateefat Okunnu ordered the release of the passport while ruling on the application filed by Nwosu’s counsel, Mr. O. Kalu.

    The Judge, however, directed that both the new and old international passports be returned to the custody of the court’s Registrar after the renewal.

    Nwosu and three former directors of Finbank Plc, Dayo Famoroti, Danjuma Ocholi and Agnes Ebubedike, were charged for allegedly stealing N10.9 billion belonging to the bank.

    Following the discovery, the Economic and Financial Crimes called one of its investigative officers, Mr. Emmanuel Damudu, to testify against the defendants.

    Damudu told the court how N18 billion was debited from Finbank’s sundry account and used to purchase bank shares for seven fictitious companies.

    The witness, who was led in evidence by EFCC counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), said the transactions were carried out on the instructions of the defendants.

    He said the companies were Ferbond Real Estate Ltd., Busch Modern Machine Tools Ltd., Tyco Food Processing Ltd., Omdidem Ltd., Eureka Ventures Ltd., Coastal Lake Ltd. and Cannon Investment Ltd.

    He said some of the shares purportedly bought for the companies were later allocated to the defendants and other directors, who paid for them.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the case was then adjourned till February 26 for continuation.