By Lawal Adenike
A former bank manager of Enugu Sterling bank PLC, Mr Anidiobi Chukwuka has been convicted and sentenced to eight years imprisonment for stealing and fraud.
The trial Judge of the Enugu state High Court, Justice Cyprain Ajah convicted Chukwuka of all the 32 counts levelled against him by the economic and financial crime commission on Tuesday.
Chukwuka was arraigned before the court for stealing and converting to personal use the sum of N219m belonging to customers of Ohha Microfinance Bank limited kept in a fixed deposit account with Sterling bank.
According to the Counsel for Microfinance Bank, Mr Olu Omotayo, Chuwkuka committed the offence between August 15, 2014 and November 16, 2017 adding that his client first reported the case to the EFCC in a petition in January 2018 which promoted the investigation by the Enugu Zonal office of the agency.
“The case was further referred for thorough investigation by the chairman of the commission based on a further petition we wrote on behalf of our client, dated July 4, 2018.
“Sequel to the outcome of further investigations, EFCC, through its prosecuting counsel and Chief Legal Officer, Michael Ani, filed a 32 count charge of stealing by conversion, obtaining by false pretences and forgery against the suspect (now convict) and was subsequently arraigned before Justice Ajah on May 7, 2019.
“The accused was represented during the trial by Chief O.A.U. Onyema, while Olu Omotayo held watching brief for the nominal complainant, Ohha Microfinance Bank Limited, throughout the trial,” he added.
Omotayo explained that Chukwuka was convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment for each counts 1 to 14.
He said “He was further sentenced to four years each for counts 15 to 28 which border on obtaining by false pretences, while he was sentenced to eight years for counts 29 to 32, which border on forgery. The sentences are to run concurrently.”
