Loan Fraud: Appeal Court Upholds Ex-GTB Employee’s Seven Years Jail Term in Enugu

Court

By JUMOKE SANNI

The Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction and seven years prison sentence of one Onyekachi Nwosu, a former employee of Guaranty Trust Bank for his commission of over N50million (Fifty Million Naira) loan fraud.

Nwosu was prosecuted by the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on a nine-count charge, bordering on forgery and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N50million and was convicted and sentenced by Justice R. O. Dugbo Oghoghorie of Federal High Court, sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu on January 14, 2021.

The convict, who was an account officer of one Anyaso Chinedu, owner of Floxy Aluminum Odiofele Products Limited, used a forged document titled “An Application to Mortgage, Consent to Mortgage and Tripartite Legal Mortgage” to deceive GTB into believing that one Mrs. Adebimpe Foluke pledged her property as collateral for the said loan to Floxy Aluminium Odiofele Products Limited.

Investigations revealed that he benefited N40million from the fraudulent act by directly withdrawing it from the account of Floxy Aluminium Odiofele Products Limited.

In the course of his trial, prosecution counsel, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE II Mainforce Adaka Ekwu called four witnesses and tendered 16 exhibits which were admitted in evidence as “Exhibit EFCC 1-16.”

At the end of the trial, Justice Oghoghorie held that the EFCC proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted and sentenced Nwosu accordingly.

Dissatisfied with the judgement, the convict approached the Appeal Court, praying it to set aside the judgement of the trial court, while Ekwu, the prosecution counsel prayed the court to uphold the judgment of the High Court and dismiss the appeal on the grounds that “the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.”