Court frees Atuche of N25.7bn theft charges

A Lagos High Court in Ikeja, Lagos State, on Monday struck out the N25.7bn theft charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against a former Managing Director of the defunct Bank PHB, Francis Atuche.

Also freed of the same charges were Atuche’s wife, Elizabeth, and a former Chief Financial Officer of Bank PHB, Ugo Anyanwu, who had been standing trial alongside Atuche.

Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, in a ruling on Monday, said the EFCC erred when it filed the case before the State High Court rather than the Federal High Court.

The judge said he was bound by the decisions of the Court of Appeal in the cases of a former Managing Director of Finbank Plc, Mr. Okey Nwosu, and a former Managing Director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank, Dr. Erastus Akingbola.

The judge held, “The allegation of purchase of shares and stocks is contained in 15 out of the 27 counts brought against the accused. The case falls squarely within the precinct of the decision of the Court of Appeal in Okey Nwosu as well as Erastus Akingbola’s case.

“The decision of the Court of Appeal becomes the extant law on the subject to the effect that any allegation of purchase of shares and stocks in any manner or colouration falls within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.

“The Federal High Court, as opposed to the State High Court, has juridiction pursuant to Section 211(d)(h) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

“However learned a lower court may consider itself to be, the lower court is bound by the decision of the higher court and this is based on the doctrine of stare decisis in the Nigerian legal system.

“Consequently, this court is bound by the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of the Federal Republic of Nigeria versus Okey Nwosu and the case of the Federal Republic of Nigeria versus Erastus Akingbola.”

The judge also dismissed an application by the EFCC asking for indefinite adjournment in Atuche’s case pending the outcome of the EFCC’s appeal at the Supreme Court in the case of Nwosu.

The EFCC’s lawyer, Mr.Dele Adesina (SAN), had in the said application, urged the court to adjourn all proceedings sine die  in Atuche’s trial pending the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Nwosu.

Adesina said the anti-graft agency was not pleased with the decision of the Court of Appellate which freed Nwosu of the theft charges filed against him.

But Atuche’s lawyer, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN),  said it would be unjust for the court to tie his client’s fate down to the pending decision of the Supreme Court in the EFCC’s appeal against Nwosu’s discharge.

According to Idigbe, granting such an application was tantamount to the court already assuming jurisdiction where it lacked any.