The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Dud Cheque

  • Businessman issues creditor N5m dud cheque

    A 40-year-old businessman, Jude Obiekwe, yesterday appeared at an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for allegedly issuing a N5 million dud cheque.

    Prosecuting Inspector Aondohemba Koti said the defendant committed the offence on May 6, 2017 at Mushin, Lagos.

    He alleged that the defendant issued a N5 million cheque to Mr. Anenlimibor Irabor, which was dishonoured at the bank due to insufficient fund.

    “The defendant approached the complainant for a loan of N5 millon to complete his plaza.

    “After an agreement was reached, the complainant gave him the loan. But when it was time for the defendant to repay the loan, he gave the complainant a cheque.

    “When the complainant presented the cheque at the bank, it was dishonoured.

    Read also: Police supervised illegal demolition of my property, businessman alleges

    “Efforts by the complainant to get his money proved unsuccessful, as the defendant refused to pick his calls.

    “The complainant reported the case at the police station and the defendant was arrested,” the prosecutor said.

    The defendant pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate M.O. Tanimola granted the defendant N200,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    She said the sureties should be employed and show evidence of two years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

    The case continues on February 27.

  • Ekiti PDP chief arrested for allegedly issuing dud cheque

    THE factional Chairman of Ekiti State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Idowu Faleye, was allegedly arrested by the police yesterday.

    His arrested was in connection with a dud cheque issued to pay for the rentage of the state secretariat.

    Faleye was arrested at about 5pm on Wednesday by a special police squad from the Force Headquarters Abuja.

    The police acted on a petition written by the owner of the building, which serves as the PDP state secretariat.

    The owner, Ropo Adesanya, said he was issued a dud cheque, which was rejected by an old generation bank based in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

    Adesanya, a former state PDP Chairman, has since defected to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in May.

    The Ekiti PDP owes Adesanya N1.5 million being the rent for one year and the landlord has been battling hard to recover the money without success.

    He subsequently served the party an eviction notice following futile efforts to recover the N1.5 million rent owed.

    Police spokesman Alberto Adeyemi confirmed Faleye’s arrest in a telephone chat with reporters yesterday.

    Adeyemi, in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Ado, explained that officers and men of the anti-fraud unit from Abuja stormed the state capital to effect the arrest of the PDP factional chairman, following the petition by the owner of the building.

    He said the factional PDP chairman has since been released, stressing that he is due to answer fraudulent case of dud cheque at the force headquarters in Abuja next week.

    But Faleye claimed that “he was only invited and not arrested” by the police.

    He also claimed that nobody signed the undertaking on his behalf, saying he signed it himself.

    Faleye denied signing the dud cheque, which landed him in trouble, alleging that it was signed by the chairman of the other faction, Tunde Olatunde, and the secretary, Dr. Tope Aluko.

    He said: “I followed them (police officers) to state Headquarters and wrote a statement wherein I stated that I did not sign the cheque. The cheque was signed by Dr. T.K.O Aluko (secretary) and Tunde Olatunde (factional chairman).

    “Nobody signed an undertaking on my behalf. I was only invited and not arrested.”

  • CBN bans dud cheque issuers from clearing, loan access

    CBN bans dud cheque issuers from clearing, loan access

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday mandated commercial banks to ban any of their customers that issues dud cheques from use of the clearing system for a period of five years.

    CBN Director, Banking Supervision,  Mrs. Tokunbo Martins who disclosed this in a circular, said the banks are to also ban the serial issuers of dud cheques from accessing credit facilities from the banking system for a period of five years.

    She noted with great concern the impunity with which some customers of banks issue dud cheques on their accounts despite the provisions of the Dishonoured (Dud) Cheques Act of 1977 and its recent directives to banks’ customers to desist from such practice.

    She said the names of the offenders should be forwarded to the three Private Credit Bureaux and the Credit Risk Management System (CRMS) adding that no institution shall, except with the prior written approval of the CBN, remove such a person’s name from the three Credit Bureaux and the CRMS.

    Martins said the customers’ names would be listed on the database of the private credit bureaux and CRMS for a period of five years from the date of submission, after which offenders will be eligible for removal.

    However, if the offender is found wanting after the name is removed, such an offender shall be permanently reinstated in the data base of both the three Credit Bureaux and the CRMS.

    The CBN director said that where an Institution fails to report a serial dud cheque issuer in its return to the CBN CRMS and Private Credit Bureaux as required, it shall be considered as concealment and misrepresentation of material fact and the affected institution shall be penalized in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, LFN 2004 CAP B3 (BOFIA).

    Martins said that to sustain the positive achievements already recorded in the Nigerian Payment System, it is essential that confidence and integrity in negotiable instruments, especially cheques, should be restored and enhanced.

    “Consequently, it has therefore become imperative for the CBN to implement further measures to dissuade the issuance of dud cheques to the barest minimum. The CBN has put in place additional regulatory measures against dud cheque issuers. Upon CBN’s compilation and dissemination of information on serial issuers of dud cheques based on bank’ returns, banks would be required to Recall/cancel all unused cheque books issued to serial issuers of dud cheques,” she said.

  • Dud cheque: EFCC arraigns House committee chair

    Dud cheque: EFCC arraigns House committee chair

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arraigned the Chairman, House Committee on Internal Security, Aliyu Gebi, for allegedly issuing dud cheques of about N120.5million to his lender.

    The lawmaker is representing Bauchi Federal Constituency on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the House of Representatives.

    Gebi was arraigned on a 13-count charge before Justice Abba Bello Muhammad of the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja.

    The anti-graft agency accused him of issuing 13 dud cheques in favour of the complainant, Musty Petroleum Ltd, an offence contrary to and punishable under Section l(b) (i) of the Dishonoured Cheque (offences) Act, 2004 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

    The accused allegedly issued the complainant post-dated cheques from his United Bank for Africa (UBA) personal account and a company account, named Craft Technology Ltd with value of dates on January 13, 2012 and January 12, 2012.

    The cheques were reportedly issued to cover an interest-free loan of N125, 000, 000 repayable within 60 days, which the company lent him.

    Upon lodging them into the UBA account of Musty Petroleum Ltd on February 1, 2012, the cheques were said to have been returned unpaid due to insufficient funds in the drawer’s account

    Moving the bail application, the defence counsel, Babatunde Oyefeso, prayed the court to grant him bail on self recognisance.

    He told the court that the accused had been enjoying the administrative bail granted him by the anti-graft agency.

    The prosecution counsel, Mohammed Bello, did not oppose the bail.

    Confirming that the accused had deposited his diplomatic passport with the commission, he urged the court to note the gravity of the offence by imposing a condition that would make the accused to attend trial.

    Ruling, Justice Muhammad said: “Bail is granted based on the previous terms as granted by the commission. He is to deposit his diplomatic passport with the EFCC.”

    The matter was adjourned till February 19 for hearing.

  • Dud Cheque: EFCC arraigns House Committee chairman

    Dud Cheque: EFCC arraigns House Committee chairman

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday arraigned the Chairman, House Committee on Internal Security, Hon. Aliyu Gebi , for issuing dud cheques of about N120.5 million, to his lender.

    Gebi is representing Bauchi Federal Constituency on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change.

    He was arraigned on a 13-count charge before Justice Abba Bello Muhammad of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, sitting in Apo, Abuja.

    The anti-graft agency accused him of issuing 13 dud cheques in favour of the complainant, Musty Petroleum Limited, an offence contrary to and punishable under section l(b) (i) of the Dishonoured Cheque (offences) Act, 2004 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

    Specifically, the Accused issued the complainant posted- dated cheques from his United Bank For Africa (UBA) personal account and a company account named Craft Technology Limited with value of dates on 13/01/2012 and 12/01/12 respectively.

    The cheques were issued to cover an interest free loan of N125, 000, 000 repayable within a period of 60 days, which the company borrowed him.

    Upon lodging them into UBA account of Musty Petroleum Limited on 1/02/12, the cheques were returned unpaid due to insufficient funds in the drawer’s account.

    Gebi pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    Moving the bail application, the defence counsel, Babatunde Oyefeso, prayed the court to grant him bail on self-recognition.

    He informed the court that the accused had been enjoying the administrative bail granted him by the anti-graft agency.

    The prosecution counsel, Mohammed Bello, did not oppose the bail application.

    Confirming that the accused had deposited his diplomatic passport with the commission, he urged the court to note the gravity of the offence by imposing condition that will make him attend trial.